Helpful Possession
by MonkeeGirl97
Summary: Keira Jackson has recently moved to New York and works in the public library as assistant librarian. She doesn't believe any of the stories about the Ghostbusters saving New York countless times, but when she is suddenly possessed by a playful spirit, will she realize that she may need the Ghostbusters' help after all? Takes place after the video game. May turn into a Ray/OC.
1. The Library

Keira Jackson had been working at the New York City Public Library for several months after having moved to the city a few years prior. She had met various acquaintances working the long hours at the library and she thoroughly enjoyed her job. For one thing, it was always quiet and she hardly ever had to talk to anyone. She could spend hours on end with her nose buried in a book, only ever having to mark her place when someone came to the checkout desk.

After a few weeks at the job, she had settled into a routine, silently going about the chores of the library: dusting the shelves, replacing books on the seemingly endless shelves, and keeping an eye on the stocks and shipments of reading material.

One such summer day, Keira sat behind the large desk, halfway through a novel. She was trying to separate her mind from her body as the small rotating desk fan buzzed quietly, doing little to cool the hot and humid summer air. Her blonde hair was in a sloppy ponytail on the nape of her neck, tiny tendrils of loose hair flying around her face each time the fan spun her way.

"Excuse me…I'd like to check out this book?"

Keira glanced up after a moment, finishing the sentence she was on in her book. Her lips spread into a flirtatious smile as she looked upon the face of her fiancé, Matt Houston standing in front of her with a random book in his hands. His brown hair was in need of a trim, but he knew she liked small imperfections about him like that. He wore a light blue t-shirt with dark jeans. He grinned down at her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"How's your day been, Keira?" He asked softly, flipping absentmindedly through the pages of the book he'd picked up. Keira shrugged and placed her own book face down on the desktop to hold her place.

"Just a regular, quiet day at the library. Can't complain too much." She said. She took the book from him and pretended to look it over and proceeded to fill out the library card on the inside sleeve.

"I know how you like your peace and quiet." Matt murmured, smirking down at her. She felt herself blush deeply as she scribbled on the library card. "Have you thought any more about what date you'd like to set as the 'big day'?"

She smiled and glanced down at the book.

"You picked Dracula again?" She asked, looking up at him, an amused gleam in her eyes as she avoided his question. He nodded laughing quietly.

"I figured if I've gotta pretend to pick something out, I need something worth reading." He said, feigning seriousness. Keira raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips.

"You could try something a little less…dark. But it is a pretty good spooky story." She admitted. She met Matt's eyes hesitantly and handed him the book.

"Well, what would you recommend?" Matt said under his breath, leaning over the desk. Keira smirked and slid the book into his open grasp. He took it with a surprised look on his face as she turned away.

"It's due on the thirteenth." She said, her eyes drifting back down to the pencil in her hand. Matt stood looking confused then felt a presence behind him.

"Keira, could you do me a big favor?"

Matt quickly stepped aside to let the other librarian, Cindy Drummond pass by him. Keira still sat in her desk chair, smiling knowingly up at Matt who waved a quick goodbye as he snuck past the unknowing head librarian.

"Earth to Keira…" The woman in front of her said. Keira smiled at her and picked up her book to place her bookmark in the pages to save her place.

"Sure thing, Cindy. I need to stretch my legs anyway." Keira said, standing and straightening her short jean skirt.

"Nice to see you Mr. Houston!" Cindy called softly after Keira's fiancé. Keira bit her lip to try and hide her smile as Matt quickly spun around and sheepishly gave the two librarians a farewell wave.

Cindy Drummond was the head librarian of the New York City Public Library and had relented to allow Keira a place in the staff when she found out that she had a knack for organization. Cindy was a middle aged woman, a little on the stout side, but with a cheerful, motherly face. Brown hair curled around her ears and she always wore a small jeweled cross necklace around her neck.

"I wondered if you would go downstairs and grab a few of the old newspapers on the Ghostbusters for me. The mayor is having a little get together with the four of them tonight and wants to have some references of their early work, I believe." Cindy paused as Keira gave her a questioning look. The head librarian shrugged. "I'm not completely sure what exactly he needs them for, but I told him we'd lend him whatever we had."

"Sure thing. Would that be under 'P' for 'Paranormal' or 'C' for "Con Artists'?" Keira asked, beginning to walk around the desk. Cindy's smile fell slightly as she regarded the girl in front of her.

"It's under 'G' for 'Ghostbusters.' They have their own category. They're a pretty big thing around here, but I suppose you haven't lived here long enough to see the big things they've done for us." Cindy explained. Keira paused as she sensed the serene tone in the head librarian's voice.

"I've heard about them." She said softly. Cindy took a breath.

"My mother was head librarian here when she saw the ghost downstairs. The Ghostbusters came here to investigate…well they weren't technically the Ghostbusters then, but they were starting out. But that encounter caused my mother to have a mental breakdown and…the position fell to me. A few years ago, the Ghostbusters came back and finally caught that ghost though, and I was so relieved when they did! Oh, Keira…" Cindy laid a hand on the girl's shoulder, smoothing down the sleeve of her white button-up blouse. "If you only knew…"

"I guess I've made it a point to stay away from the commotion they cause. I don't really…do…scary."

Cindy laughed quietly as Keira turned and headed through the maze of shelves towards the lower level of the library. She paused only a few times to help out some of the regular visitors, and pretty soon found herself casually strolling down to the rarely visited wing of the library.

"Okay…'G' for 'Ghostbusters'…." She mumbled to herself quietly as she scanned the filing cabinets along the wall. She found the drawer she was looking for and pulled it open, scanning through the tabs until she found several marked 'Ghostbusters' 1984-1991'.

"Gosh…how do I know what they'll want? There's so much to pick from…" Keira said as she walked her fingers over each newspaper, reading the headlines.

"Gozer? Vigo? Shandor? Come on…these sound like the type of things you'd name a dog!" She muttered as she selected a few of the earlier newspapers and then some from where the Ghostbusters had made the huge headlines. She stood up, struggling to hold the heavy newspapers as she nudged the filing cabinet closed with her hip and turned back the way she'd come.

The lights flickered in the dim, quiet space. Keira froze and shifted her gaze around warily. She moved forward and peered down each aisle as she walked back to the stairs. After convincing herself that she was being paranoid, she glanced down at the newspaper on top of the pile in her arms as she walked.

The headline read 'GHOSTBUSTERS SAVE NEW YORK' with the four men whose faces she had come to recognize from various television commercials in a large picture beneath the title. They were covered in what looked like some kind of white goop, huge smiles plastered on their sooty faces.

"They fought a giant marshmallow man, huh? That doesn't sound too terrible…" Keira said as she glimpsed through the article. She turned down an aisle and had almost reached the stairs when she heard a soft laugh behind her. She raised her gaze to the room around her and spun around slowly, expecting to see the source of the noise.

"Anyone down here?" She called out softly. She paused to allow someone to answer then shrugged to herself and turned back to the stairs that led up to the ground floor of the library.

A cool breeze floated towards her, blowing her loose blonde strands from her ponytail past her face. Keira quickly turned her head to where it had come from and was startled when a book fell from one of the nearby shelves and crashed to the ground. The sound echoed in the silent room.

"Okay. I'm not staying down here…" Keira said as she jogged up the stairs and out into the crowded library reading room. She slowed her jog to a walk as she neared the front desk where a long line of people were waiting for Cindy to help them. Keira rounded the desk and set the newspapers on a chair behind her before taking the next person in line.

It took nearly ten minutes for her heart to stop hammering in her chest.

When they had finally helped the last person in line, Cindy and Keira both relaxed a little and sighed in relief.

"These look great, Keira," Cindy said as she picked through the newspapers Keira had brought up from the archives. Then she glanced up as she noticed the tension in Keira's face. "What's wrong?"

Keira looked away from where she'd been staring into the distance, spaced out and she quickly shook her head.

"Did Matthew say something to you? You know I've known him since he was a little boy. He may be your fiancé but I know how much mischief he caused in here when he was little." Cindy threatened. Keira smirked.

"No, it's not him. Just…something weird happened downstairs. You must have put some ideas in my head when you told me about what happened with your grandmother." Keira said.

"What happened? The Ghostbusters confirmed there was nothing else here last time they came through…" Cindy said. Keira resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the mention of the Ghostbusters.

"I thought I heard someone, but no one answered when I called out. Then there was this weird breeze…which definitely felt out of place down there. And a book fell off the shelf." Keira rattled on. When she stopped, Cindy stared at her.

"Hm. Maybe it is time I give them a call…" She said. Keira frowned.

"I'm sure it's nothing. I just tend to let my mind get away from me sometimes. You caught me in the middle of a chapter and I guess my thoughts were still processing that. You don't have to…"

"No, I'll call them later and make an appointment for them to come by tomorrow. It might do you some good to actually meet them in person." Cindy smiled smartly at a flabbergasted Keira as she made a small note to remind herself.

"Great…" Keira said, fixing an overly excited expression onto her face. As soon as Cindy glanced away, Keira's smile slowly turned into a grimace and she groaned at the thought of meeting the famous Ghostbusters.


	2. Meeting the Ghostbusters

"Keira, what's wrong? This is your favorite restaurant…" Matt sat across the table from Keira, studying her worriedly. She had barely touched her food, and had spent most of the meal staring into the distance, her face set in a permanent frown.

"Did they not make the steak how you like it?" Matt asked as he took another huge mouthful of his own meat. Keira looked down at her plate and forced a few pieces into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

"I'm just worried about tomorrow. Cindy called for the Ghostbusters to come in to check out the library." Keira said as she sipped at her water. Matt set his fork down and stared at her.

"Why, what happened? Did someone see something?" He asked, interested. Keira nodded.

"I felt something. And without thinking, I brought it up to Cindy and she immediately got it into her mind to call them. I can't believe she did that…" She mumbled, putting her face in her hands.

"So you get to meet them? Gosh…I've dreamt about that for years!" He exclaimed. Keira flashed him a wary glance and then resumed picking at her food with her fork.

"I don't know what I'm going to say to them. I mean, they seem to be pretty well renowned here in New York, but I missed all the action from the past several years. So…I feel like they'll be expecting me to gush over them and talk about how much I appreciate what they've done…but I wasn't here so I don't know what I'll…"

Matt reached across the table and took her hand which had been fiddling with her engagement ring.

"Keira…they won't expect you to do anything. They're professionals. They've been doing this for close to ten years now, I think." Matt said reassuringly. "They'll probably ask you some questions about the library and what you saw."

"But I didn't see anything! Like I told Cindy, it was probably my overactive imagination. You know how often I'm reading." She said. Matt smiled and nodded.

"That's how we met, of course I know. I can still feel that bruise you gave me when you ran into me walking through the park with a book in your hands." Matt said, grinning. Keira felt herself blush and her heart trilled as she went back to eating.

"It's just…hard to imagine or even entertain the thought of the many ghosts and monsters they've apparently faced…that kind of thing only happens in stories…" Keira mumbled. Matt was silent for a long time.

"You forget, I was here when everything happened. You wouldn't take my word for it?"

Keira glanced up to see that Matt's face was as serious as she'd ever seen it in the several months she'd known him. She sighed and looked away after a moment.

"Matt… I don't know…"

"The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man stepped on my car!" He blurted out.

Keira stared at him, biting her lip in an attempt to hold back her laughter. Matt raised his eyebrows and continued.

"And then New Year's Eve, I stood outside on my balcony waiting for fireworks and the Statue of Liberty walked right by my apartment building! You try and tell me things like that don't happen."

Matt stared at Keira in expectant silence, waiting for her to reply. When she didn't, he shook the brown curls from his forehead and looked back down at his plate. He picked up his dinner roll and took a furious bite out of it. Keira sat in silence watching him rage eat his dinner. After a moment she shifted in her chair and swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry, Matt. I didn't know you praised them so highly too. I guess I really shouldn't be so quick to make assumptions about them." Keira raised her gaze to Matt's face, waiting for him to say something, but it took a few more minutes until he'd even look at her again. When his blue eyes finally landed on her, his walls fell down and he smiled back at her.

"You're still new to the city. It's weird to hear all of these stories about busting ghosts and whatnot, and I'm sure if I were in your position I wouldn't believe them either. But I think once you meet them tomorrow, you will." Matt smiled.

Keira smirked back up at him and then glanced down at her half-finished dinner in front of her. She could feel butterflies welling up inside her as she considered of the possibility of there actually being ghosts roaming in the world, unseen by the living.

"I'll just point them in the direction and as long as they don't ask me to do any more than that, I think I'll be fine." Keira said softly, half to herself. Matt raised an eyebrow then chuckled.

"That's what I like about you. You're so eager to get attention away from yourself."

* * *

"Here they come!" Cindy squealed almost excitedly as four men entered the library. Keira's eyes widened as she recognized their beige tacky uniforms from the television commercials. They each wore strange backpack-like equipment on their backs, and seemed to be geared up for anything.

"Ms. Drummond?" One of the men called out. Keira jumped as his voice echoed throughout the library, disturbing some of the college students studying at the tables. Cindy gave Keira an encouraging smile and then waved the four Ghostbusters over to the main desk.

"Hi, how are ya?" The man who had called out said as he shook Cindy's hand. His voice was still obnoxiously loud, and by the smirk on his face, he seemed to realize it.

"I'm doing fine, Dr. Venkman, thank you! Thank you so much for stopping by! It's been a while, hasn't it?" Cindy said, her voice slightly higher pitched than normal. Keira resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the clearly flirting librarian. Dr. Venkman glanced up to see that Keira was studying him with a hesitant glance.

"What's up with her?" He asked jokingly. Cindy looked back at Keira who blinked and took a shy step backward.

"This is Keira Jackson. She's the one who saw the ghost." Cindy said. Dr. Venkman reached across the desk to take Keira's hand in his.

"You poor thing. You must have been scared out of your wits." He said gently. He kissed her hand and Keira felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Venkman, that's enough." Another man, slightly shorter than Dr. Venkman stepped forward and offered Keira an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. He's a bit melodramatic."

"Obviously." Keira said lightheartedly.

"Keira, this is Dr. Stantz." Cindy said as he quickly shook her hand as well. Keira nodded to him and then turned as another man, this one taller than the others walked up behind Dr. Stantz. "And that's Dr. Spengler, and Mr. Zeddemore."

Each of the other two men both nodded to Keira as they were introduced.

"Hey, she doesn't know who we are? What, have you been hiding under a rock these past few years?" Dr. Venkman quipped loudly.

"This is a library, Dr. Venkman. I'm sure everyone would appreciate it if we'd use our inside voices." Keira said smartly. Dr. Venkman stuck his tongue out at her.

"Right. So um…where did you see the apparition?" Dr. Spengler pressed, pulling out a small blinking device and switching it on with a small whirring noise.

"Well, I didn't actually see it but…I felt something." Keira stammered. The four men all looked at her waiting for her to explain.

"She says that there was a breeze down there, which is odd since it's been such a hot summer and we don't turn on the air condition system because it's a rarely used section." Cindy said quickly.

"That's all?" Dr. Venkman said, sounding a little offended. Keira glanced at the other three Ghostbusters and cleared her throat.

"I told Ms. Drummond that I don't believe in ghosts so I chocked it up to my imagination. That's probably all it was." She said quickly. The four Ghostbusters stared at her in silence then exchanged knowing glances with each other.

"You're new here, aren't you?"

"Mr. Zeddemore, I've only lived here for a few years, yes. I've been educated on your adventures, but in my personal experience, this doesn't sound like anything on that level. But since Cindy called you here, you may as well go down and check." Keira said. The more she talked, the larger the Ghostbusters' smiles grew. When she was finished, she glanced up, noticing that none of the men had moved after her dismissing remarks.

"Why don't you show us where this happened?" Dr. Spengler suggested. Keira's eyes widened and her shoulders slumped.

"I don't think…"

"Too scared?" Dr. Venkman said tauntingly. Keira frowned at him and then turned away, leading the way across the library to the downstairs room. She could hear the four men, laden with their heavy equipment scurrying to keep up with her stride. Her heartbeat quickened the closer they grew to the stairs and when they finally reached them, she stopped and turned to face the four men.

"Something wrong?" Dr. Stantz asked. Keira gestured down the stairs.

"I was right down there." She said. Dr. Stantz blinked at her and she sighed as she realized that he was still waiting for her to lead them down to the lower level. He flashed her a knowing smile as she spun around and trotted down the stairs and towards the shelves where she had heard the laughter the day before.

"I think I was standing about here-ish, talking to myself as I read over some of the articles I found about…you all…in the newspapers. And then, as if reacting to what I said, I heard a laugh." Keira explained, taking her finger and wiping a line of dust from one of the shelves next to her.

"Where did the laugh come from?" Dr. Spengler asked, waving his weird device over the shelves around them. Keira turned and waved her hand in the general direction behind her.

"It sounded like it came from that back corner, I think." She said.

Dr. Spengler nodded thoughtfully and headed in that direction followed by Dr. Stantz. Keira slowly followed, not wanting to be left behind. The two men in front of her were silent as they moved through the shelves. Keira was thankful she had worn her black flats to the library that day, instead of her short heels that she favored most of the time. She found herself clenching her hand in her dark navy skirt, as she held her breath in expectation.

Finally the two men stopped in the corner next to a few filing cabinets. Dr. Spengler stared down at the device in his hands, his face etched with thought. He glanced up at Dr. Stantz.

"Slight temperature drop. But other than that, I'm not getting anything." He said bluntly.

Keira exhaled slowly and prepared to lead the men back up to the ground floor of the library. That's when she felt a breeze blow her blonde hair from her shoulders. She gasped and turned around.

"Gotcha."

Dr. Venkman grinned at her laughingly, fanning a large book in her direction. Keira groaned and slumped against the shelf beside her, embarrassed.

"Dr. Venkman, I appreciate you attempting to lighten the mood, but it's not working." She said. He smirked.

"Call me Peter, please." He said.

"No."

"Come on…" He persisted. Keira stiffened and then turned back to where the other man, Mr. Zeddemore had joined the others.

"I think I'm going back upstairs. You're welcome to stay down here and look for as long as you need. Just come and get me or Cindy if you need anything." She said with a small smile. Then she turned and walked back towards the stairs, not pausing for fear that she would make herself hear something else.

* * *

"Well, she's an odd one, isn't she?" Peter said as he stared after her. Egon glanced up at him with a frown.

"Leave her alone, Venkman. She's already expressed her disinterest." He said.

"Anything?" Ray asked, reading the PKE meter over Egon's shoulder. Egon shook his head.

"Well, we might as well make a sweep of this whole bottom floor. Can't hurt anything, can it?" Winston suggested. Ray smirked.

"Maybe we can check back on the secret passageway. You know, to make sure no one else has accidentally discovered it." Ray said, heading towards where the bookcase had hidden the passageway to the underground room where they had captured the Grey Lady.

"I'm still a little jealous that you guys tackled this place without me." Peter whined.

"No you're not. You were exactly where you wanted to be that night. You chose to stay behind with Ilyssa." Ray retorted. Peter smirked.

"Oh yeah."

Upon reaching the bookcase that hid the secret passage, Egon reached his arm towards the back of the shelf to make sure his carefully concealed lock was still in place. When he was satisfied with what he discovered he shifted the books on the shelf back into place and nodded.

"Everything is still in working order. No one should be getting through there anytime soon." He said. Just to confirm his suspicions, he switched the PKE meter back on and his eyes widened at what showed up on his display. "Ray…there's something close."

"What is it?" Winston asked, reaching for his thrower. Egon studied the screen of the meter making calculations in his head.

"It appears to be only a singular entity… but the classification is still unclear." Egon's voice lowered as he moved through the shelves tracking down the source of the energy.

"So maybe the girl's not crazy?" Peter piped up, looking around sharply.

The four Ghostbusters were startled as a hoard of books flew from a nearby shelf and struck them.

"Hey!" Winston exclaimed as he caught a book and threw it back in the direction it had come from. The book stopped in midair and was hurled back at Winston who ducked to avoid it.

"Guys…I think we found our ghost!" Ray said excitedly as he powered up his particle thrower. "Let's get to work!"


	3. Evacuating the Library

**Hi everyone! I've been neglecting to write in my usual little chapter intros for this story so far, but I think I'll try to do that from now on...unless it bothers anyone? :)**

 **I'm really excited that I've moved on to a different story and I'm really eager to get it all written down! Please don't be afraid to review or message me with any questions or comments you may have! Like I said in my other story, I love to hear from you guys!**

Keira stood behind the large desk chatting with one of the regular library visitors when she heard a loud crash from the lower level of the building. She flicked her gaze to Cindy who had been assisting another woman with a stack of books. Cindy flashed Keira a flustered look as she shifted uncomfortably with the books and Keira quickly excused herself from the girl in front of her.

Keira ran through the library, darting past confused students and visitors. When she reached the stairs, a figure emerged from the now darkened lower level.

"Mr. Zeddemore! What is going on down there?!" She asked shrilly. He coughed and struggled to catch his breath.

"Ray says you've got to evacuate the library."

"Ray? Dr. Stantz?" Keira asked confusedly. "But I thought Dr. Spengler said there was nothing here!"

"That's what we thought. But it was just laying low until Egon just happened upon it. It's pretty bad."

"I don't understand…" Keira said slowly. Winston gently shoved her back in the direction she'd come.

"Just get everyone out of here! Oh! Hey!" He said as he pulled her back. Her blue eyes were wide as she attempted to peer over the man's shoulder to see what the sudden commotion of flashing lights was down in the room below.

"Mr. Zeddemore?" She asked. Winston rolled her eyes.

"First names please, it'll make everything easier. Winston." He said as he gestured at himself. "I want you to get everyone out of here but…do it in a manner that's quiet and orderly. Ray thinks we can contain it down here with no trouble but in the off-chance we can't…we don't need this thing getting riled up with hundreds of people screaming and running."

Keira stared at the man in front of her, contemplating what was really happening. She glanced once more at the descending stairs over Winston's shoulder and could see a bright flash and sparks hitting the ground. One of the other three Ghostbusters yelled, which was followed by another loud crash.

"I'll do what I can." Keira said as she rushed back to the large open reading room. She scurried from table to table, relating that the library was closing early on the Ghostbusters' orders and to most everyone she confronted, that seemed to be explanation enough. Cindy noticed what she was doing after a few minutes and rushed over to the young librarian.

"Keira, what's going on down there?!" She squeaked.

"I don't know. They just told me to evacuate the building." Keira said as she helped a young elementary school boy to repack his belongings into his backpack and gave him a gentle push towards the exit.

"They found something? Keira, you were right!" She said almost excitedly. Keira frowned.

"I didn't see anything, just flashing lights and what could have been special effects. I still don't know what to think." Keira said. Cindy gave her a frown but then hurried to the other side of the library to find other people to warn.

* * *

Cindy called her mother when the library had been cleared out, which seemed to have been a terrible idea because that caused the elderly former librarian to worry. When Cindy had hung up the phone with promises to come right over to her apartment, Keira tried to hide her reluctance.

"Keira…would you mind waiting for them to finish down there? It shouldn't be long…just lock up after them." Cindy said with an apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry, but I need to go."

"Sure, I'll do it." Keira said, following Cindy out of the building. She watched as Cindy hailed a taxi and disappeared down the busy afternoon street. Keira plopped down on the paved stairs to wait out the Ghostbusters' return.

She didn't have to wait long.

Keira could still hear the loud crashes and they sounded like they were on the ground floor now. She could hear the four men shouting at each other as they ran through the library.

"Look out!" Someone shouted from behind where Keira sat on the library steps. She leapt to her feet as a flash of green erupted through the door, shattering bits of glass which tinkled to the stairs below. Keira's eyes widened as she saw the spirit flying towards her.

Even in the afternoon bright sunlight, the thing was glowing with a bright shade of green. The dark eyes of the creature darted around as it rapidly considered it's escape route and then it spotted Keira. The girl let out a terrified scream as she spun around and rushed down the stone stairs in front of the library.

"Keira!" One of the Ghostbusters called out from behind her as they ran down the stairs in pursuit of the ghost.

Keira had almost reached the bottom of the stairs when she felt a strong force shove her off her feet. She was airborne for all of three seconds before she skidded to the sidewalk below. The breath was knocked out of her and she gasped uselessly for air until she felt a cold presence surrounding her.

"Don't move…" A voice hissed in her ear. Keira, still on the ground struggling for breath, froze and opened her mouth in shock as the cold presence seemed to fully overtake her. Her sight grew cloudy but she finally caught her breath and she gasped in lungfuls of air and pushed herself to her knees.

"We lost it! Where did it go?!"

"I don't know! My eyes were still adjusting!"

"Hey, Keira! You alright?"

Ray was the first to reach the downed librarian and he placed his hands under her arms to help her up.

Keira struggled to reply, but her head was swimming. She could see the Ghostbusters in front of her gazing into the sky and surrounding areas for the disappeared ghost. She flicked her eyes back to Ray who was looking her over worriedly.

"Hey, it slimed you! You feeling okay?" He said gesturing to her knees and arms. Keira looked down at her arms and could see that nearly her whole body was coated in a strange cold green slime. She frowned and looked back up at him confusedly.

"I feel…weird…" Keira said, blinking through the glaze in her eyes. She suddenly felt a wave of dizziness flow through her and she stumbled slightly.

"Yeah, that's normal for someone having just been slimed. It's not pleasant but so far not dangerous." Ray explained as he helped her stand once more. "Hey, you're bleeding too. Let me get you to the car where we can check you over…"

Keira slumped against him weakly but then suddenly felt herself draw back away from him.

"No, no…" Keira found herself saying. "I'm fine, Dr. Stantz, thank you."

Ray took a step back as she shoved him away. He blinked as she scraped some of the slime from her arms and clothing, not flinching when she looked down at the blood on her elbows and knees.

"Okay…" Ray said.

"Ray, the readings are still present." Egon said as he approached the two people, meter in hand. Ray glanced down at the device in Egon's hands and shook his head in awe.

"We'll have to keep looking. It's gotta be hiding around here somewhere." Ray said. He glanced back up at Keira who was watching them with interest. "Miss Jackson just had her first encounter with a ghost. Now how do you feel about us?"

"I guess I'm just…amazed that what I had always thought of as fiction was just proven to me to actually exist." Keira said slowly. She was still feeling dizzy, but her body seemed to be more steady now.

"Glad it was you and not me." Peter said, joining to group and taking in her slimed outfit. He had made a quick run around the outside of the building, but had returned finding nothing. Winston had gone with him and was equally baffled.

"The day's not over yet." Winston said. Peter shrugged.

"We'll get someone to fix the doors, Miss Jackson. You go on home and shower. Call us if you feel or see anything again." Egon said. Ray nodded and then led the group back towards the strange ambulance parked near the curb. They seemed to be rummaging around in the back of the car for other equipment and then after finding what they must have decided they needed, they headed back up towards the library.

Keira stared after them and then slowly headed on her way back to her apartment several blocks down from the library. She figured no cab would be willing to stop for her in the condition she was in.


	4. Nightmares and Morning Talks

**Hey everyone! Sorry for not posting anything the past week...I've been really busy at work. Yesterday was a pretty stressful day even though it was Saturday, but oh well! I had some debate about this next chapter, and decided to do something completely different so I had to rewrite almost everything I had and that's what took so long. I promise, after this, it will start to pick up, I think. So enjoy and please review! :)**

As soon as she'd showered off the slime with painstaking efforts, Keira collapsed on her bed in a T-shirt and pajama pants. She was still lightheaded and even closing her eyes brought back the sight of the nightmarish ghost flying towards her.

The shape of the ghost had been human-like, but the figure also seemed to be trailing thick green smoke after it. What frightened Keira the most about the creature was its eyes. They looked almost human, but darker, like the life had been taken from them and replaced with shadows. Keira tried to shake away the vision, dreading the thought of going into the library the next morning, but for the moment she couldn't even force herself to move from her bed.

Her dreams were odd once she finally reached unconsciousness.

Her vision was foggy, like in most dreams, but she could make out that she was in what appeared to be a dark alley.

 _Well this is already headed in a bad direction._

Keira found herself walking towards the shadow-enshrouded end of the alley, a tense feeling in her mind as she moved. She could hear voices echoing distortedly through the shadows which made her hesitate. But her feet moved of their own will and she pushed on into the darkness.

The next thing she knew, she felt a sharp pain tear through her chest. She reached to clutch a hand to the sudden pain and found a handle protruding from the center of her chest. Her mouth opened in an exclamation of surprise and horror as her hand was instantly coated with her blood. She felt the heat as it rushed out of her body and she fell to the alley's ground, still bleeding out. She gasped and cried out as the rise of her chest caused her fresh pain. Her vision cleared for only a moment, long enough to see a white car go flying by the entrance to the alley. Then her eyes closed and the pain overtook her.

* * *

Keira startled awake, her heart hammering in her chest and her lungs burning. She grabbed at her chest where she could have sworn she could still feel the pain from her nightmare. She looked around her room, early morning sunlight filtering in through her curtains. She glanced at her alarm clock and could see that it was only a little past six in the morning.

"I guess that ghost experience really tired me out…if I slept over twelve straight hours…" She muttered to herself. She couldn't force herself to sleep any longer even though she still had a few more hours until her alarm went off, so she decided to get up and make a small breakfast before she had to get ready to leave for the library.

She was just sitting down to a plate of toast and scrambled eggs when her phone rang. "Hello?" She answered as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Keira? Hey!" Matt said. Keira smiled as she stirred a splash of milk into her mug.

"Hey Matt, I was just about to call you before I left. I'm sorry I didn't meet you last night for dinner. I fell asleep yesterday afternoon and slept straight through the evening and all night long. I wasn't expecting more than a quick nap, or I would have called you." She apologized.

"You did call me…" He said. "I got a little worried and was about to head over to your apartment when you finally returned my calls."

Keira had been taking a sip of her coffee and nearly choked on it with her surprise. She heard Matt chuckle lightly.

"You must have been dreaming because none of what you told me made much sense. You were saying something about a ghost and that you were feeling sick. I took that to mean that you were staying in." He said slowly. Keira scoffed.

"Well I definitely don't remember using the phone last night, but what you heard makes a little bit of sense to me." She smiled. "The Ghostbusters did find a ghost down in the library. They chased it outside and it disappeared. But not before sliming me…"

"Sliming you? Wow…that sounds gross, but awesome!" Matt said excitedly. "What was it like?"

Keira grimaced, recalling how long it had taken her to wash the goop out of her hair.

"It was pretty gross." She said. Matt laughed and she found herself smiling as well. She tucked a stray bit of blonde hair behind her ear.

"What did the ghost look like?" Matt pressed her, curiously. Keira opened her mouth to answer but then found that she couldn't remember what it had looked like. She frowned as she tried to pull the memory of the spirit charging towards her on the front steps of the library.

"It…it was glowing…" She started. Matt was silent as he waited for her to elaborate. She shook her head quickly. "It burst through the front doors of the library. The Ghostbusters sent me straight home after I was hit, but they stayed to replace the door somehow…I guess they have their ways…and they were going to look around for the ghost some more."

"But it was gone?" Matt asked.

"I-I guess. I haven't heard anything else about it. But if I missed your calls last night, I could have gotten one from the Ghostbusters and I just don't remember it." She said, combing her hands through her hair nervously.

"Well I'm glad to hear that you're okay. I really was worried about you last night." Matt said seriously. Keira winced.

"I feel terrible that I missed our date, Matt. Can we have a redo tonight?" She offered hopefully.

"Of course we can. I'll pick you up at seven?"

Keira bit her lip and smiled as her heart did a little flutter. She glanced down at her engagement ring with the little blue stone set into it and nodded towards the phone.

"I'll be ready. Can't wait." She murmured into the phone. She made a little kissing noise and then smiled as she heard him do the same. She hung up and quickly finished her breakfast.

* * *

She was able to freshen up and reach the library by 9:30, thirty minutes before opening time. Cindy was already at the front desk, sorting through the clutter behind it. She smiled in relief as she greeted her coworker.

"Good morning, Keira. I wasn't expecting you to come in today." She said. Keira flashed her a cocky smile as she placed her purse in a drawer behind the front desk.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Ah, I see you survived your scare after all!"

Keira whirled around to see Peter and Ray strolling her way from among the maze of bookshelves on the opposite end of the building.

"How long have they been here?" Keira quickly hissed at Cindy. The other librarian shrugged.

"They had me open the doors for them a little before eight. To be honest, this is really exciting!" Cindy said. Keira smirked and rolled her eyes.

"How are you feeling, Miss Jackson?" Ray asked as he approached the front desk.

"Well, after a good thirteen hour night's sleep, I'm back to feeling a hundred percent." She smiled politely. Ray raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

"Well, I must admit, I'm jealous. We stayed here looking for that ghost until about nine last night. Not even a trace of it. We thought maybe we'd have some more luck getting a fresh start this morning." Ray explained.

"But so far, we haven't." Peter interjected. Ray pursed his lips and lowered his gaze to the ground, dejected.

"I'm not so sure about that, Venkman. I'm getting some very strong readings now…" Egon rushed towards them from another row of shelves, following the blinking meter in his hands excitedly.

"What is it?" Keira asked worriedly.

"Looks to be a class four entity…it's very faint though." Egon raised his meter and twirled around in a circle.

Keira placed a hand to her temple as she felt the beginnings of a headache forming there.

"Wow, we're finally getting something?" Winston asked as he emerged from behind Keira in one of the backrooms. Keira jumped and then placed her hand to her chest reflexively. Winston smirked at her apologetically.

"This is odd. After Keira left yesterday, that was when we lost all traces of supernatural activity around the library and now that you're back…" Egon turned towards her and frowned as the meter in his hand lost all signatures of the ghost. After a moment, he glanced at her over his glasses.

"It appears I was wrong." He said thoughtfully. He waved the device around for a few more seconds but couldn't find another reading. "That's strange…"

As quickly as it had appeared, the headache in Keira's temples was gone. She inwardly shrugged away the thought.

"Did you check downstairs again? Maybe the ghost went back to its original haunt." Keira suggested. Ray shook his head.

"We've been taking new scans down there every ten minutes. Nothing since yesterday afternoon when the ghost came out of hiding." Ray said.

"Could it be hiding from you now? Maybe it's somehow shielding itself. You said there was nothing down there yesterday but somehow you broke through its shield and were able to find it, even if it was only for a little while." Keira said. Ray and Egon both considered her thoughtfully.

"It's possible." Peter finally said.

"Hey, you're smarter than you look." Winston added lightly. Keira smirked.

"Well…I read a lot." She said, spreading her arms in a gesture at the library around her. Ray smirked at her, while Peter frowned as she beat him to the joke.

"We'll go look around some more…now that you're here, there seems to be a slight change in the readings we're getting. It was brief but it was there." Ray said.

"The library opens in just under twenty minutes…" Cindy piped up quietly. "Do you think it would be okay to open like normal today? Or would that interfere with what you men are doing?"

"No, I think it would be good to go about everything like usual. Maybe that's another factor that caused us to lose the ghost yesterday. When it realized that the library was empty, that's when it headed outside." Egon said.

"So it likes people?" Keira asked, trying to keep up with the Ghostbusters' thought processing. Ray and Egon threw her a glance.

"Some ghosts prefer heavy populated spaces, yes." Egon answered.

"Okay, so we'll open like normal, then." Keira confirmed, still feeling wary about the idea.

"You did great evacuating the library yesterday though, so we might want you on stand-by." Ray complimented her. Keira nodded.

"Alright guys, let's go down there. It won't hurt to check again." Winston said, turning and heading away from the front desk.

"Maybe someone should stay up here in case something happens…" Peter said. Keira flashed him a warning glance and then smirked as she noticed that Ray had caught it.

"You're right, Venkman. I'll stay up here with the girls. Good call." Ray smiled triumphantly as Peter scowled at him.

"Touché, Dr. Stantz…" He muttered and he spun around with a flourish to follow as Egon led the way back downstairs.

Keira laughed softly as the other three Ghostbusters went out of earshot and she turned back to Ray who was studying her thoughtfully.

"That thirteen hour rest has really put you in a better mood than you were in yesterday." He noted. Keira shrugged.

"I guess I should apologize for my attitude yesterday. I didn't know what to think about you all. From what I had gathered, I pictured you as frauds, but after seeing that thing…" Keira frowned as she once again couldn't pull the memory of what exactly the ghost looked like.

"Yeah, people have different opinions about us. But if you had been here a few years ago…" Ray glanced at Cindy who squirmed uncomfortably in her chair.

"Yeah, Matt told me all about his experiences with the Stay Puft Marshmallow man and the Statue of Liberty…and I must admit it was hard to believe. Then he showed me photos of his car covered in marshmallow…" Keira smirked.

"But you're still skeptical?" Ray asked. Keira shrugged.

"I don't know what to think anymore. That thing that covered me in slime yesterday was pretty real, wasn't it?"

"I'd say it was pretty real. We don't usually have that tough of a time capturing a ghost like that." Ray admitted.

"Well, I hope you find it quickly. I don't know how I feel about sharing my workspace with a ghost." Keira shuddered. She was surprised to hear soft laughter echo around her. She glanced up hurriedly but neither Ray nor Cindy acted like they'd heard the noise.


	5. Library Discoveries

**Hello everyone! Once again, I apologize for how slow I've been at updating so far, but hopefully I'll get through this hectic time I'm having writing this all down. I've got an idea for another story I want to work on after this but I need to push that aside until this one is done. (I've barely gotten into this one yet!)**

 **In case I didn't make it clear in the description, I'm writing this story after the events of the game. I've played the Wii game, so that's the version I'm going off of. If that doesn't make any sense, just let me know! :D**

 **Anyways, please leave a review if you have any questions, thoughts, or just want to tell me how it's going! I like to hear from my readers!**

Winston and Peter followed Egon as he led them through the entire lower level of the library. They stopped as they came upon the bookcase concealing the secret passage and Egon quickly scanned the shelves for any sign of the ghost.

"Still nothing." He murmured as he turned to show the other two. Peter squinted at the screen and let his shoulders slump dejectedly.

"I was hoping we could wrap this up… I hate libraries." He muttered.

"Why?" Winston asked, bracing himself for Peter's sarcastic reply.

"They only exist to make people feel dumb. Surrounding them with so much knowledge is so overwhelming."

Egon's eyebrows raised as a flicker of a reading appeared on the screen. He looked in the direction from where it had come from and motioned for the other two Ghostbusters to follow.

"This way…" He said quietly. Peter looked at him halfheartedly but relented to trail after him when Winston nudged him on.

"What is it, Egon?" Winston asked after they'd rounded a corner, ending up at the stairs. Egon glanced up at the stairs skeptically.

"It's leading us in circles! It's just messing with us…" Peter grumbled. Egon held up his hand for silence and then quietly made his way up the stairs.

"If it takes us up here one more time and then disappears again, I'm going home." Peter threatened. Winston rolled his eyes and shoved the other man up the stairs after Egon.

Egon followed his PKE meter, zig-zagging through shelves. He stopped as he heard soft laughter echo through the room, and glanced quickly at his meter as it flashed briefly with the sound.

"Did you hear that?" Egon asked, listening again. He could hear the murmur of two voices in conversation and crept forward towards the sounds.

"Hear what?" Peter asked, suddenly alert. Winston reached up for his thrower as they rounded the end of the shelf. The laughter echoed again, this time slightly closer. Egon flinched as the meter in his hand spiked with the psychokinetic frequency of laughter. Egon raised his gaze to peer past the meter and his head titled to the side thoughtfully as he found the source of the laughter.

"Wait!" Egon hissed as he swung the other two Ghostbusters back behind the shelf. Peter and Winston both flashed him surprised glances.

"Ow!" Peter protested as his back hit the shelf, causing a few books to topple to the floor.

"What was it?!" Winston asked. Egon shook his head.

"Maybe the reason we can't find this ghost is because my equipment is malfunctioning…" Egon explained, fidgeting with the meter. The readings remained the same.

"What are you talking about?" Peter griped. Egon held it up for the other man to see.

"It says the entity is close…" Egon peeked his head from around the shelf once more, and the front desk came back into view.

Ray was leaned casually over the desk, talking to Keira as she worked to rearrange books. She laughed as he uttered something unintelligible to the three Ghostbusters. Cindy was also listening in on their conversation, laughing every once in a while with them. As Egon held the meter towards the crowd of three people standing at the desk, the meter flashed wildly.

"Oh no…are you telling me Ray's possessed again?" Winston asked worriedly. Egon shook his head.

"No, Ray's been with us all morning. We would have seen something by now if he was." Egon explained, glancing between the meter and the front desk.

"But you're implying that _someone_ is." Peter stated.

"Cindy left yesterday while we were chasing down the ghost, so it can't be her, can it?" Winston said thoughtfully. Egon didn't say anything for a moment.

"Unless it happened before we got here this morning. She was here alone for a little while." Egon said. Peter and Winston glanced at the middle-aged librarian as she sat in one of the desk chairs filling out paperwork.

"She looks pretty harmless to me." Peter said. Winston nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but maybe the ghost is in hiding like Keira suggested."

Egon, Winston and Peter all looked at each other, the same thought surfacing in their minds all at once. They all peered past the bookshelf once more to stare at the younger librarian.

* * *

"So you've fought a marshmallow, a painting, and…what did you say was at the museum?" Keira asked.

"Among other things, there was a reanimated dinosaur." He said. Keira smiled, scanning Ray's face for any sign that he was joking. He nodded seriously and Keira giggled.

"It's a lot scarier than it sounds." Ray admitted. Keira smiled.

"…So Cindy tells me there was a ghost in here before. What happened to it?" Keira asked. Ray smiled at the memory.

"Well, it was actually the very first ghost we'd ever seen so at first Egon, Peter and I ran for our lives. But once we'd established the Ghostbusters and everything, we kinda forgot about it. Then a few years ago, this strange burst of psychokinetic energy spread throughout the city and we were on call for weeks trying to hunt down ghosts. There were nodes all over the city with more powerful entities guarding them. One of the nodes was here in the library, which we called the Grey Lady's territory." Ray explained. Keira stared at him, intrigued.

"Was she the powerful ghost guarding the…whatever you call it?" She asked. Ray laughed.

"No…no. That was the Collector, and he was in the form of, get this: a giant bookworm." Ray paused to take in Keira's reaction. She frowned but didn't say anything. He smirked and went on. "But we did piece together how the Grey Lady died. It was all part of Ivo Shandor's plan and when she gave him the book he wanted, he killed her. We caught her right before we battled the Collector."

Keira was silent for a moment as she processed all of the information he had just dumped on her. She stared past the man as she thought about what he was saying. They had battled a giant bookworm in the library she had been working in for nearly a year and she hadn't known about it. Could anything else she'd read and put aside as fake in fact be true?

She was pulled back into reality and her eyes widened as she realized that the other three Ghostbusters were staring at her from the other side of the library. She gasped in surprise and then burst into a fit of soft laughter as they dove back behind the shelf.

"What's so funny?" Ray asked, sounding hurt as he thought she was laughing at the explanation he had just given her. Keira shook her head and pointed as Egon, Peter and Winston casually emerged from behind the bookshelves and headed towards the front desk.

"Still got nothing!" Peter called.

"Are you serious?" Ray asked dejectedly.

"Is he ever?" Winston replied. Keira smirked.

"Winston, maybe now would be a good time to show Ms. Drummond the secret passageway and what we've done so that she can make sure to call us if there's another change." Egon suggested. Winston nodded and gestured for the head librarian to follow him downstairs. Once they'd gone, Egon turned back to Ray and Keira.

"You did find something." Ray said. Egon nodded stiffly and glanced at Keira. She blinked and looked at the man uncertainly.

"Was it the ghost?" She asked when none of the three men said anything. Egon flashed Ray a guarded look before answering.

"In a way, yes."

"What does that mean?" Keira asked nervously.

"It means that this job is going to take a while." Peter blurted out. Keira flashed him a wary glance and he shrugged.

"This ghost is pretty aware of what's going on around it. We'll have to somehow catch it off guard like we did yesterday." Ray said. Egon nodded.

"Well, people are starting to come in…what's the plan?" Keira asked warily as a few students filed in and headed for their usual tables.

"I think two of us should be enough to hold down the fort here today. Pete and Egon are heading over to the restaurant down the street to capture a class 3 entity. It shouldn't take too long, right Egon?" Ray said.

"Well that's what you said about that graveyard haunt last month and we were there for almost three straight days…" Egon started but Ray rolled his eyes good humoredly.

"Whatever. Winston and I will stay here to look around for a while. We'll get that little spook to come out no matter how long it takes."


	6. Confusion

**Surprise! I couldn't wait to post another chapter, so here's a bonus for you guys. Don't expect me to post two days in a row again anytime soon though! I've got a busy workweek coming up tomorrow and I doubt I'll have as much time to write as I would like to...I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to give me some feedback! :)**

Keira unlocked the door to her apartment and slipped inside, sighing in relief after a long stressful day. Thankfully it had been slightly uneventful, aside from the fact that the Ghostbusters roamed around the building all day in search of the missing ghost. They finally left after lunch with the promise to check back later in the afternoon, which they hadn't gotten around to what with answering other numerous calls around the city.

Keira threw her purse in the armchair next to her television and hurried to shower before getting ready for her date with Matt.

It was almost six thirty before Keira was ready and she sat in front of her dresser mirror, dressed in a simple black skirt with a deep purple blouse. She'd found one of her favorite necklaces, a small silver pendant in the shape of a crescent moon and it hung around her neck. She brushed through her hair after putting on a bit of makeup and smiled at her reflection.

 _Hmm._

Keira looked up in the mirror behind her, then turned to look where she had heard the thoughtful murmur come from. She froze for a moment, glancing around her room nervously.

"I know I heard it that time." She said to herself.

Her gaze drifted to her bed, made neatly from the early morning she'd had, and then she looked towards her closet which was slightly open. She peered out of her bedroom and into the living room.

"…Hello?" She called, her voice timid.

She stood up from her place in front of her dresser and stepped hesitantly towards her closet, glancing around her curiously. She took one last glance around her before grasping the closet's doorknob and jerking it open. Her heart jumped in her chest as she heard a bout of laughter from behind her.

"Who's there?" She called, her voice echoing in the empty apartment. Her eyes darted around and her heart pounded in her chest painfully. Her head suddenly ached and she gasped as she fell against her dresser, catching it with a strong grip in her hand. Her vision grew foggy and she managed to look up at herself in the mirror. As she did, she found that her reflection was smiling knowingly at her. Keira's head swam and then she fell into a dark void, followed by the laughter she had been hearing in her head all along.

* * *

Keira awoke halfway and could hear several voices echoing distortedly around her. She was in a dimly lit room, and for some reason she couldn't pinpoint where exactly she was. She could still feel a slight headache but it was manageable as she looked around groggily.

Vague shapes took up most of the space she could see and she struggled to clear her vision from the dark spots in it. Her heartbeat was calm, which was strange as she looked around nervously. She froze as she heard her own voice in the midst of the other soft murmurings around her. She couldn't make out what was being said, but it made her uneasy. The voice said something again and Keira felt herself draw away from the voice, terrified. The sounds around her went silent and Keira held her breath in anticipation.

She was suddenly hit with a blast of a sharp ringing in her ears. She inwardly screamed in pain and crouched in the darkness, hands pressed to her ears. The ringing grew in intensity and Keira was overwhelmed by it as her vision went black.

* * *

Keira lurched up in bed, gasping for breath. Late morning light poured into her bedroom, which surprised her. She glanced down at her nightstand to find the source of what had woken her. Her phone was still ringing, seconds away from letting her answering machine answer it. She hesitated for a moment and then quickly grabbed for the phone.

"H-hello?" She stammered, still on edge.

"Keira ! Are you okay?" Matt's worried voice drifted through the phone. Keira smacked a hand to her forehead.

"Matt! I'm so sorry…about last night's dinner…I know I forgot about it…again…I was getting ready and then…"

"Keira, what are you talking about?" Matt asked.

"The Ghostbusters came the other day and there was a ghost…a _real_ ghost! And Matt…I think it's here…" Keira said slowly. She glanced up at her room, confused. She could hear Matt's soft laughter from the other end of the line. "Why are you laughing at me?"

"I'm laughing because you're adorable when you're excited. You're telling me the ghost story all over again."

Keira paused and stared into the distance, processing what he'd just said.

"Again?" She finally muttered. She could almost hear the click as Matt's mood instantly changed to worry again.

"At dinner last night. Remember? You told me all about the ghost and what happened with the Ghostbusters and everything."

"Matt…I didn't go to dinner with you last night."

Matt fell silent for several seconds. Keira's heart thudded in her chest as she waited for Matt to break into laughter, signaling that the whole thing was a joke.

"Matt, this isn't funny…" She warned after a minute.

"Keira, if I didn't pick you up last night, then who went to dinner with me?" He said quickly. He had an edge to his voice that said he thought she was the one joking. Keira looked at herself in her dresser's mirror and froze.

She wore a knee length red dress, complete with her favorite silver crescent moon necklace and stud earrings. She glanced at the floor next to her bed and could see where she had apparently kicked off her heels before climbing back into bed.

"Okay…that's definitely odd…" She murmured. She looked up at her dresser and could see that the outfit she had originally chosen for her date was neatly folded and laying across the chair. She felt her heart leap into her throat as a dizzy feeling crept over her.

"Keira?" She heard Matt say worriedly. She shook her head to blink back the feeling and looked down at her alarm clock, which read that it was nearly lunchtime.

"Did we drink last night?" Keira almost squeaked.

"What? No…why?" Matt asked. "Keira you're scaring me."

"I'm scared myself right now, Matt. But I've gotta go, I'm late for work. I've…I've just gotta get out of here." She said, slowly pulling the phone away from her ear.

"No Keira, wait-!" She could hear Matt as she replaced the phone in the receiver. She stared at it for a long moment, still struggling to figure out why she failed to remember the night before.

* * *

Keira walked into the library, a clean pair of blue jeans and a dark green blouse replacing the bright red dress she had woken up wearing. She had pulled her blonde hair back halfway, the waves still falling down past her shoulders. She glanced around at the quizzical looks some of the regulars gave her but she ignored them as she moved in a beeline for the front desk where Cindy was waiting.

"Keira! I was worried about you!" Cindy said as Keira moved behind the desk and dropped her purse on a shelf behind it.

"I'm sorry. I overslept." She said. Cindy studied the girl next to her.

"You look a little pale, are you all right?" She said worriedly. Keira turned to the woman nervously.

"To be honest, I had a terrible night last night. I was supposed to go on a makeup date with Matt, and I remember getting ready to go out, but then everything just stops right there. Matt even called this morning and he said that I was with him last night. But Cindy…I don't remember it." She blurted out. Cindy stared at the girl, pity in her gaze.

"Keira…are you sure you're not overreacting?" Cindy smiled slightly to herself before going on. "I remember when I was engaged to my first husband, my nerves were uncontrollable up until the wedding! Could that be it?"

"Yeah, I guess that could be it." Keira said, turning to start busying herself sorting through books behind the desk. She shook her head, still not feeling right.

"The Ghostbusters said they were coming back after lunch today…" Cindy said slowly as she glanced down at her watch. Keira slumped her shoulders as she collected a stack of books in her arms.

"To look for the ghost? It went outside…why do they think it would still be here in the library?" Keira asked. Cindy shrugged as a tall figure stepped up to the desk.

"Why, hello Mr. Houston…" Cindy said. Keira whirled around with her stack of books, surprised.

"Keira?" He said softly. His blue eyes were intense as he stared at her with unsaid questions. She blinked and smiled awkwardly.

"Walk with me?" She offered as she rounded the counter with her large stack of books to put away. Cindy flashed her a reassuring look and waved them off.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked guardedly as they walked through the open reading room and towards the numerous shelves lined up near the back. Keira nodded.

"I'm fine now. Just…still pondering last night. Because, seriously, I don't remember going out with you." She said, stopping to put away a few books. Matt stood beside her, watching as she worked.

"Maybe you're just so used to going out with me every night that it just felt routine. That and you had a life-changing experience meeting the Ghostbusters the other day." He grinned. Keira smirked and moved down the row of shelves to find the next section.

"Sounds about right, I guess." She said contentedly. She knelt to replace another book on the lower part of the shelf. As she slid the book between the others on the shelf in front of her, she gasped as she saw her hand shaking slightly. She frowned and then stood back up, staring thoughtfully at her palm.

"So if you really don't remember last night, I guess that also means you don't remember any of what we talked about over dinner, am I right?" Matt said, not noticing the worried look on Keira's face as she studied her twitching hand. She glanced up at him, lowering her arm back to the smaller stack of books in her grasp.

"No, not off the top of my head." She replied. Matt chuckled slightly.

"We finally set the date." He said, smiling widely. Keira's face twitched into a small half smile.

"We did?"

"Yeah, you said you wanted it in December. I suggested earlier in the month so we could spend our honeymoon over Christmas in Hawaii." Matt said, still smiling. Keira breathed a sigh of relief as she considered the thought of warm beach weather during the winter. She was already getting ideas in her mind for the wedding now that the time of year was set.

"That…that sounds wonderful, Matt." She smiled. She stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. She pulled away, feeling her face grow warm and she looked back down quickly at the books clutched to her chest like a lovesick schoolgirl.

"Miss Jackson? Keira!"

Keira whipped her head in the direction of loud voices echoing off the walls of the library.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Another voice called. Keira closed her eyes and groaned.

"How many times do I have to tell you, this is a _library_ , Dr. Venkman!" She said at normal volume instead of her usual soft voice. She moved towards the end of the aisle, followed closely by Matt.

"There you are!" Peter said, turning over his shoulder to call out obnoxiously to his fellow Ghostbusters. "Guys, I found her!"

"Maybe I should go…" Matt said as he squeezed Keira's hand. Keira didn't let go as he tried to pull away and he quickly looked back at her, eyebrows raised.

"Don't leave me alone with them." She muttered under her breath as the full team of Ghostbusters congregated in front of her.

"Hi Keira. We just wanted to check back with you, since Ms. Drummond said you came in late. Everything alright?" Ray said. Keira glanced at Matt, wondering if she should say anything about her amnesia of the previous night.

"Y-yes. I think I'm still just hung up on the fact that ghosts are real." She said vaguely. Matt kept silent, but flashed her a quick glance.

"You gonna introduce us to your friend?" Peter asked. Keira glanced up at Matt who was gazing back and forth from each of the Ghostbusters silently.

"Um…this is my fiancé, Matt Houston." Keira said nervously. She smiled at the four Ghostbusters in front of them. "I think he knows all of you."

Matt stepped forward and shook each of the Ghostbusters' hands and nodded politely. Keira smirked at his awkwardness.

"Right. Well I guess we'd better keep on searching for that missing ghost. We'll see you later." Ray said smiling at Keira politely. She nodded and then watched as Egon took the lead, directing the others past Keira and Matt and towards the lower level of the library. As Ray brought up the rear of the group, she could hear Egon switch on his little meter.

"This is so cool... Can we go with them?" Matt asked, shifting on his feet. Keira scoffed.

"I don't know why you'd want to. They won't find anything." She blurted out. Her eyes widened and she froze. Matt looked at her, noticing the change.

"Why do you say that?"

"I-I don't know." She said, stumbling back against a shelf as a wave of nausea washed over her. She dropped the few books that she still had in her grasp and raised her hands to her head.

"Keira? Keira! What's wrong?" Matt asked, grabbing her shoulders. The girl looked up at her fiancé trying to focus on his face. Colors swam across her vision and as the dizziness grew to an overwhelming intensity, she collapsed to the library floor, unconscious.


	7. Worry

**Sorry for the wait, guys! As I expected, this workweek was crazy busy! I survived though, thank goodness and I was finally able to think up some more ideas for this story. I'm really excited to share more of it with you, and I'm thankful for those who have been keeping up with me so far. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review! :D**

"Keira? Keira…"

A voice drifted down to where Keira lay sprawled on the ground. Her mind was full of static and she cringed as other voices broke through to her.

"Miss Jackson. Slow movements only." A voice that sounded like Egon's directed her.

"Keira! Oh my God…are you alright?" Matt's voice sounded right next to her ear. She cringed and felt herself pull away from him.

"Geez, are you trying to make her deaf?" Venkman snapped.

"Sorry…" Matt whispered, sounding farther away. Keira shifted slightly, afraid to open her eyes for fear that the dizziness would strike her back again.

"It's okay, Keira. Whatever it is, it's gone for now." Ray's voice sounded softly on the other side of her. She moaned and then slowly opened her eyes, blinking at the warm lamplight around her.

"S-sorry…to sound cliché…but what happened? And where am I?" Keira groaned.

She sat up a little too quickly and fell back against her elbows. Ray had a hand on her shoulder and he eased her back against something soft. She chanced a quick look behind her and could see that she was leaning against a small armchair down in the lower level in the library.

"You fainted." Egon said bluntly. Keira blinked up at him confusedly.

"I've never fainted before." She said, before thinking about the previous night's strange ordeal. Egon shrugged.

"Boy, this week is just full of firsts for you, isn't it?" Peter said lightly. Keira winced.

"We got PKE readings nearly identical to that of the missing ghost as we headed for the stairs, and then just as suddenly as it appeared it was gone." Egon said, looking at the meter in his hand.

"Then this guy-" Peter nodded towards Matt. "…started heroically yelling for help and luckily we were still close by."

Matt flashed the man a sheepish glance and then cast his worried gaze back at Keira.

"But how did my fainting spell have anything to do with whatever readings you got on your meter?" Keira asked confusedly, still trying to regain the clarity in her head.

"We think you were attacked by the ghost…again." Winston interrupted before either Egon or Ray could reply.

"But…I didn't see anything." Keira said.

"Neither did I." Matt confirmed.

"Well, it's just a theory." Ray said. He glanced at Egon who was still flipping through the meter thoughtfully. "We might want you to come back to the firehouse with us for a few tests if you feel up to it later today."

Keira blinked in confusion and flashed a worried look at Matt. She struggled to sit up slightly so that she could see everyone.

"Tests? What kind of tests?" She asked fearfully. Ray smiled knowingly at Egon.

"Just a few cautionary procedures. Nothing serious." He said reassuringly. Keira wasn't so sure. She glanced up at Matt who was still watching the Ghostbusters in awe.

"I…don't know." Keira said. "What do you think is wrong with me that I need to be tested?"

"Well, mentally speaking, a reader of your nature could be labelled as highly imaginative and you could possibly be just letting that run away with you." Egon suggested. Keira tried to make out if that was a compliment or not.

"But on the other hand, fainting spells don't just happen from something as small as a person's imagination." Ray said seriously. Egon nodded.

 _No._

Keira looked up to see where the voice had come from but it didn't belong to any of the men surrounding her. She looked at her hands, noticing that they were trembling.

"No…I guess they don't." She said slowly in reply to Ray's comment.

She could feel the atmosphere in the room growing colder and she struggled to stay conscious. She couldn't faint again in front of them, they'd insist she come back with them for tests when she really didn't want to.

"…Keira?"

She glanced up as Matt said her name. She forced back the lump in her throat and tried to shake the dizzy feeling away.

"What?" She asked quietly. Matt looked up at Ray and the other Ghostbusters worriedly.

"I said, maybe you should tell them about last night."

 _Lie._

Keira leaned forward, closing her eyes briefly as a wave of nausea came with the sound of the voice.

"I was supposed to meet Matt for dinner last night…but…" She started. She paused as a shrill ringing began to sound in her ears. "…I was a little late getting ready to meet him."

The four Ghostbusters stared from the girl on the floor to her fiancé. Matt shook his head frantically.

"No… she…"

"…Matt!" Keira cried out as the ringing intensified. He swung his gaze to her and then looked back at the Ghostbusters for help.

Egon quickly knelt next to the girl, his meter shrieking.

"Ray, there's something here."

Ray leaned down to peer over Egon's shoulder and then studied the girl in front of him. Keira tried to hide her discomfort, to no avail.

 _Stop fighting me…_

"…I-If I come by after work, would that be okay?" Keira offered. The ringing ebbed away quickly and she was finally able to catch her breath.

"Sure." Ray said. He glanced at Egon who was staring at the meter worriedly. Keira shakily took Matt's hand as he pulled her to her feet. The dizziness was suddenly gone and she looked around skeptically, listening for any sign of the voice.

"Yeah, we've gotta get going. Things to do, people to see." Peter said casually. He flashed Keira an amused glance as she stared at him.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright until then?" Winston asked. Keira met his eyes warily before feeling herself nod.

"I can stay with her for a while." Matt spoke up. The four Ghostbusters looked at the man and Peter rolled his eyes. Keira smiled halfheartedly.

"I doubt Cindy will let you stay here for the rest of the day," She said, still leaning against him. "But thank you."

"So, what happens now? Are you just going to leave it to chance that the ghost won't come back?" Matt asked nervously, wrapping his arms around Keira protectively. Ray shook his head.

"We'll try to come by tomorrow sometime if nothing shows up when we meet with Keira this afternoon."

"Just call us if you get something before then." Winston said, directing his words to Matt. Keira frowned as she glanced briefly up at Matt who nodded.

"You can never be too careful." Ray said. He motioned towards her. "Come on, you can walk us out."

Keira grabbed Matt's hand and followed the four Ghostbusters as they made their way out of the small sitting room and towards the shelves leading to the stairs. As they reached the stairs, Peter and Egon both stopped and motioned Keira and Matt ahead.

"Don't need you having another fainting spell. That could be a nasty fall." Peter said. Keira smiled wearily and pulled Matt up the stairs with her.

"What's wrong?" Matt asked. He gently squeezed her hand and she realized that she had tightened her grip around his. She made herself relax slightly and then sighed.

"I just want this day to be over." She said softly. Matt fell into silence as they crossed the library, leading the Ghostbusters towards the entrance.

"Uh…Mr. Houston?"

As they passed the front desk, Cindy's voice stopped them. Matt looked at the head librarian curiously. She pointed towards a table full of elementary-age children. They were causing a bit of a distraction for other visitors, loudly giggling and throwing papers. Their teacher obviously hadn't cared to notice.

"Could you take care of that for me? I think they'd listen to a young man like you better than they would an old woman." Cindy smiled and Matt smirked.

"Sure thing, Ms. Drummond." He left Keira with the Ghostbusters and jogged over to the table of kids who were already quieting themselves at his approach.

"Nice guy. Good with kids?" Ray asked. Keira glanced up and saw that he was talking to her.

"Oh…I guess so." She said. She felt herself blush slightly as Ray smiled at her.

"Good trait to have." Winston said. He frowned at Peter as he leaned towards the girl, nudging her with his elbow.

"How many are you two planning on having?" Peter interrupted. Keira was taken aback by his joke and drew away from the men slightly.

"He's just teasing." Egon said, shoving Peter away from the girl. "Come on, we've gotta go."

Keira went to the door with them, opening it for them as they filed past her. Ray was the last to exit the library and he paused on the stairs with Keira as the other three Ghostbusters headed for their car down at the curb.

"You're sure you'll be okay until this afternoon?" He asked. Keira stared at him carefully, wanting to tell him about the voice she'd been hearing. She shook her head, imagining his possible reaction to her 'voices in her head.'

"I'll be fine." She said. She decided to fake ignorance about the ghost haunting her. "The ghost is downstairs, right? I'll just…try not to go down there if I can help it."

Ray stared at her worriedly then shook his head.

"Maybe."

Ray turned and headed down the stairs to where the other three men had unloaded their equipment and started the car. Flashing lights rotated on the roof of the old ambulance/hearse and Keira could see Peter playing with the siren inside. People walking by stopped and stared, waving at the Ghostbusters.

"Keira?" Ray called as she was about to turn back into the building. She whirled around and saw that he had stopped on the steps and was watching her carefully.

"Yes?" She said back.

"You _will_ call us?"

Keira frowned to herself and looked at the other three Ghostbusters at their car, waiting for Ray to unload his proton pack into the back of the hearse. They all were studying her curiously as well. She looked back at Ray and nodded.

"I will." She said. Ray nodded and slowly descended the stairs and walked to the car. Keira turned and headed back into the library, confused as to why the Ghostbusters were suddenly so hesitant about her.


	8. Lucille

**I'm so excited! I've finally got this story up and going pretty well...I think...and I hope it's looking okay to you guys! I know this chapter may seem a little long, but I hope it's not too confusing or that is sounds too rushed. Please let me know if it does, and I'll try to rewrite it! Also, leave a review if you'd like, because I'd love to hear what you guys think so far! :D**

 **On a random note...anybody in the US get to see the eclipse this afternoon?**

Matt had stayed to help out around the library, despite Keira's persistence that she was fine. Cindy didn't really seem to mind, and actually enjoyed putting the young man to work. Through the several little errands Cindy sent him on, Matt made sure to keep an eye on Keira, who spent most of the rest of the day behind the front desk at the computer. Cindy had gotten wind of her fainting spell and had ordered her not to stray too far from her sight. Keira had reluctantly obliged.

Once closing time came, Keira, Matt and Cindy all sat together behind the front desk, chatting and relaxing after the workday.

"So, Hawaii's the plan, huh?" Cindy said. Keira smiled at Matt who squeezed her in a side hug.

"I've never been." Keira said, excitedly. Cindy waved her hand at the girl.

"You'll love it! If you get to see any of it, that is." She joked.

Keira shook her head, smiling. She sighed contentedly and suddenly grew distant, daydreaming about the wedding and honeymoon.

 _Lilacs and white roses would look lovely to line the aisle…_

Keira frowned to herself as the thought came to her. She considered the suggestion for a second and then blinked as the voice giggled in amusement. Keira glanced up at Matt who was taking suggestions from Cindy on hotels and airlines to use for the trip.

"Matt…I think I want to go home." Keira interrupted after a moment. Matt looked to her curiously.

"Everything okay?" He asked. Keira rubbed a hand to her head, ruffling her hair as she nodded slowly.

"I'm just getting a headache. I kinda want to go lie down for a while." She said. Matt studied her for a moment and then smiled at Cindy.

"Thank you for letting me stay to help out this afternoon. And I'll see about booking for the week around Christmas. You said traveling on the first of the week is the better choice?" He asked. Cindy nodded.

"Go on, take her home. She's looking a little pale." Cindy said as she stood up from her desk chair. Matt helped Keira to stand and then he grabbed her purse from its usual spot behind the desk. Cindy raised a hand to the girl's forehead, her motherly instinct taking over. "Keira, if you feel sick tomorrow morning, I think I can take care of everything here."

Keira smiled wearily and nodded.

"I promise I'll call to let you know in the morning." She said. Cindy smiled and then walked the couple out of the library.

As they headed down the stairs in the front of the building, Matt turned to Keira worriedly.

"Do you want me to go with you to see the Ghostbusters this evening?" Matt offered. Keira winced as she remembered the appointment she had made.

"I-I don't know if I even feel like going now, Matt." She sighed. "I'll just call a cab and go home."

"I'll come with you." He said.

 _Yes, let him._

Keira frowned at the voice as Matt stepped up to the curb to wave down a taxi. If the voice wanted Matt there, that couldn't be good. She was silent as Matt finally hailed a cab and spoke to the driver. He held the door open for Keira as she slipped inside and then he sat next to her, slamming the door shut behind him. As the car pulled back into traffic, Matt wrapped an arm around Keira's shoulders comfortingly. She carefully leaned into his side, hesitant, waiting for the voice to say anything else.

As they reached her apartment door, Keira fumbled in her purse for her keys, biting her lip when she noticed her hands were shaking again. Matt watched her worriedly as she unlocked and pushed open her door. She looked up to meet his gaze hesitantly, feeling her headache returning.

"I would invite you in, but I think I'm just going to lay down and rest for a while." She said.

 _All the more reason to let him in…_

Keira blinked away the thought as the voice laughed distantly. Matt kissed her on the cheek, bringing her back to the present.

"I'm just a phone call away if you need me." He murmured. He ran a hand along her cheek and pushed her hair back as she kissed him back softly. He smiled reassuringly at her as she closed the door.

Keira turned away from the door, setting her purse on the armchair. She stared at her hands which had gone still. The voice in her head had also grown silent. Keira looked around the room carefully, her heart pounding.

"I…I know you're here." She called out hesitantly. The room was silent and unmoving as she slowly spun around.

 _…_ _Do you now?_

Keira jumped at the voice and whirled around, seeing nothing.

"Show yourself!" She said.

The voice laughed and Keira realized that it was coming from her own mind. She stepped back slowly, still looking around frantically.

"Am I crazy?" Keira finally breathed, her throat choking up. She raised both of her hands to her temples and squeezed her eyes shut.

 _No._

"Then who are you?!" Keira cried. The voice laughed once more and Keira suddenly realized that it sounded slightly feminine.

 _I thought a reader like you would have no trouble at all figuring it out._

Keira stared at the ground, her heart still hammering. Her eyes welled up with fearful tears.

"You're the ghost." She said. The voice made a satisfied murmur in confirmation.

 _Smart girl._

Keira steadied herself against the armchair behind her.

"…Why are you doing this?"

 _Really, Keira, I thought you hated clichés._

Keira was silent as she listened fearfully to the voice. Her mind kept straying to every book she'd read, everything she'd ever heard about ghosts. She tried to think about the circumstance she was in and how to get herself out of it.

 _Now, honestly. You think I'm here to hurt you? Why are you so afraid?_

"You're a ghost! What else are you supposed to do?" Keira exclaimed to thin air. The voice laughed.

 _You think that's a reason? I have no intentions of causing you any harm._

Keira blinked slowly. She had read about restless spirits wandering the earth after death, and in nearly all of those stories, the ghosts had seemed weary, lonely and harmless. She made herself relax only slightly as she thought about what the ghost was saying.

"Then what _is_ your intention?" Keira asked finally. The voice hesitated, then Keira heard an exasperated sigh.

 _I'd been trapped with that newspaper for years. I guess I really should thank you for releasing me._

"So…why did you attach yourself to me then?" Keira frowned.

 _I was too weak…it's just for a short time, I promise._

"What? What's only for a short time?" Keira panicked. She suddenly felt something like a cool embrace snaking up over her shoulders. She flinched against the touch but felt herself slipping into unconsciousness.

 _I'll explain everything later…_

* * *

The ghost quickly took control of Keira's body as the girl's consciousness was overtaken. In her panic, it was easier for the ghost to take over. Keira's blue eyes suddenly brightened to a light green color, the color of the ghost's eyes.

The ghost looked down at Keira's hands, turning them over and studying the motion thoughtfully. Then she calmly walked through the apartment and to Keira's bedroom, settling herself in front of the mirror on her dresser. She studied the girl's plain face, and gently ran a hand through the long blonde hair trailing down her back. She glanced at the clock next to the girl's bed and thoughtfully turned to grab the phone on her nightstand.

"Keira? Everything alright?" Matt's voice sounded as he picked up his phone on the second ring. The ghost smiled.

"Yes, I just wondered if you would take me somewhere." She said in Keira's soft hopeful voice.

"I thought you didn't feel well…" Matt muttered slowly. "But where did you have in mind?"

"There's this old restaurant about six blocks down from here." She said lightly.

"I think I know which one you're talking about. It's kind of expensive…that's why you've never wanted to go. What made you change your mind?" Matt asked.

"I just need a change."

"Well okay. I'll be there in half an hour." Matt said uncertainly as he hung up. The ghost smiled and whirled around to pick through Keira's closet, frowning at the girl's taste in clothing. She finally selected a dark green, almost black dress that looked like it hadn't been worn in a while. She pulled her hair back with a large clip and fastened on the silver crescent moon necklace she'd found around Keira's neck the night before.

And as expected, Matt knocked on her apartment door not long after she was ready. His face lit up with a relieved smile as she opened the door and kissed him.

"You look a whole lot better than you did this afternoon." He said. The ghost, as Keira, smiled timidly.

"I feel better." She said simply. She grabbed Keira's purse and then stepped out into the hallway with Matt.

When they'd reached the restaurant, Matt led the way inside, Keira's arm in his. She looked around searchingly at the people they passed on the way to their booth, silent as Matt gushed over how crowded the place was. They were finally led to their table, and they both slipped into the booth and picked up their menus.

"What are you getting?" Matt finally asked after a few moments. Keira's eyes were looking around at the other people in the room instead of the menu. When Matt glanced up from his menu to see why she hadn't answered, he was greeted by a quick smile.

"I'm thinking about the pasta." She replied slowly. Matt raised an eyebrow but nodded as he looked back down at his menu. Keira glanced back at the booth across the room from where they were sitting and stared at the couple that was eating there.

A tall man sat across from a young woman, flecks of grey in his dark hair. He was dressed very elegantly with a dark suit jacket and tie. The woman, brown hair pulled back into a bun, was also dressed smartly in a scarlet red dress and heels that were so tall that her knees bumped the table above them. Keira narrowed her eyes at the smile the man gave to the woman as they talked casually at their table.

"Keira?" Matt asked gently. Keira flicked her gaze back to the man in front of her and blinked in confusion. Matt tilted his head to the side, gesturing at the waiter standing patiently above her. She smiled apologetically before placing her order and watching the waiter walk away. She flashed another quick glance at the couple sitting at the far away table before putting her menu down to converse with Matt.

* * *

Keira opened her eyes to find herself in a dark alley, the same alley from her dream. This dream was slightly clearer and she could see details around her that she hadn't noticed before.

She wasn't alone. Someone was walking next to her, talking, although she couldn't hear what was being said. She looked around hurriedly when she heard a shout from behind her. Fear clouded her mind as two figures emerged from the shadowy corners of the alley. She grabbed onto the other person with her but she was shoved away and the other person ran at to other two figures.

 _"_ _Hey!"_ She shouted angrily as she shoved herself back to her feet. One figure ran towards the girl and the others followed. She grabbed for one of the men and grasped his arm. She was shoved away once more, and she saw the glistening of a knife in the dim lamplight of the alley.

 _"_ _Lucille!"_ A man's voice shouted. Keira's vision clouded and she heard the sound of running footsteps as the two figures ran back down the alley away from her. As she lay on the ground, she could see a familiar white car fly by the alleyway, flashing lights on the roof of it.

Keira inhaled sharply as she came back to reality. Tears clouded her eyes and her arms felt like they were thawing out as an icy cold mist withdrew from her limbs. She rubbed her hands together, working the feeling back into her fingers. Her heart was hammering as she looked around fearfully.

"…Lucille?" She called out hesitantly. There was no answer from the voice. Keira tried again. "That's your name isn't it?"

 _You found my memories._

"I don't know how…but is that what that was?" Keira asked thoughtfully.

 _It must be._

"Why do I feel so weird?" Keira asked hesitantly. Her limbs still felt like they'd been asleep and she cringed at the tingling feeling that lingered. Lucille laughed softly.

 _Sorry about that. I don't know my own strength sometimes._

"How did you do that?" Keira asked, wiping the tears from her face.

 _It's hard to explain…I was just giving you a rest. Your nerves are really fragile lately._

Keira blinked and looked around at her apartment, noticing small differences. Her purse wasn't in the armchair where she usually put it. Her gaze drifted over to the counter in her kitchen and she could see her purse sitting neatly on top of it. She looked over towards her bedroom and could see that her outfit from her day at the library was lying on her bed. She looked down at herself sitting on her couch and could see that she was in her pajamas. She squinted at the digital alarm clock in her bedroom and her eyes widened as she could see that it was nearly eleven at night.

"Why don't I remember the last five hours?" Keira asked slowly.

 _You were asleep._

"I don't remember putting on my pajamas…" Keira said hesitantly. Lucille was silent for a moment.

 _I took care of that for you._

Lucille's voice was soft. Keira blinked slowly, glancing back at the counter where her purse sat, looking out of place.

"Did I go somewhere?" She asked quickly. When Lucille didn't answer right away, Keira felt a tinge of anger well up in her. "I want the truth."

 _You went out with Matt again._

"Meaning, _you_ went out with Matt again? Is that what happened last night too?"

 _Yes._

"Why? You're just…running around in my body, as me, when I'm not awake?"

The voice laughed.

 _No no no…well, yes. But like I said earlier, it's just for a short time. Until I can fix things._

"Fix things? What are you…?" Keira started. She stood up from the couch and moved towards her bedroom shakily.

 _You asked me why I'm still here. Ghosts, like myself, have unfinished business, which I'm sure you've read plenty about. I'm not leaving until I finish mine._

Keira felt her face pale and her chest tightened in fear. She glanced at the phone on her nightstand worriedly. She reached for it hesitantly, one thought in her mind.

 _You're thinking of calling them, aren't you?_

Lucille broke through Keira's thoughts, her voice soft. Keira felt the cold creeping through her back and over her shoulders once more. She struggled internally against it.

 _If you call the Ghostbusters…they'll take me away. And…I'll never get to be at rest._

Keira felt tears well up in her eyes, not only from her growing fear, but from pity. The cold slowly ebbed away and she relaxed slightly before pulling her hand away from the phone.

"…Okay. I'll…I'll help you. What do I need to do?" Keira asked softly, clenching her hands into fists. She still looked longingly at the phone in front of her.

 _I've already started on that. Just…give me time and…access when I need it._


	9. Close Encounter

**Hey everyone! I haven't had much time to write this week, and every time I did get a few minutes to sit down to work on this story, I hit some writer's block. But finally I'm slowly edging my way through it and I think I'm back on track again. Hope you enjoy this chapter! It may have some parts that are confusing so far, but I promise I'll tie everything together soon and in possibly the next chapter, a few of your questions should be answered. ;)**

Keira awoke the next morning still feeling weary after the long and confusing night she'd spent trying to figure Lucille out. The ghost's answers were vague, no matter how reassuring she sounded, and Keira was worried. Keira lay motionless in her bed for several minutes, afraid to move at first. She listened intently for any sign that Lucille was there in the back of her mind, but the ghost had disappeared again.

Once her alarm clock went off, Keira slowly got out of bed and showered before lazily piecing together an outfit for another day at the library. She found a short cream colored skirt and a light blue blouse and slipped on her black flats. She tied her hair up into a ponytail before heading into the kitchen to find something for breakfast.

She spent nearly fifteen minutes staring blankly at the contents of her fridge and cabinet before deciding that she couldn't eat anything. A cold chill lingered in her chest and her nerves were too on edge to even think about sitting down to breakfast.

"Lucille?" She finally chanced to call out. There was no answer, but that didn't make Keira feel any less uneasy.

She glanced quickly at the clock in her bedroom and took a deep breath. She looked at herself in the mirror across from her bed and was unsurprised to see how tired she looked. She quickly grabbed her bottle of foundation makeup to mask the sleeplessness that showed on her face. She was slightly paler than normal and there were lines under her eyes that she knew would turn into dark circles if she didn't get a decent night's sleep soon.

* * *

"Keira! You're here!" Cindy said as Keira entered the library slowly. Keira blinked and smiled wearily, heading for the front desk where Cindy was sitting.

"I couldn't sit at home all day. I need to stay busy." Keira said lightly. Cindy smiled and nodded understandingly. As she turned back to her work, Keira lowered her gaze to the ground, feeling a cold chill spread down her neck.

 _Remember, Keira. If you say or do anything that gives me away…_

"I know…" Keira breathed. Lucille seemed to withdraw only briefly. Cindy glanced up at Keira quizzically and gestured towards the large cart full of books behind them.

"It's crazy isn't it? Feel like getting started on those? I'd really appreciate it…" Cindy said. Keira smiled at the other librarian's misinterpretation of Keira's despair.

"Well…I did say I wanted to stay busy. I'll be lucky if I get them all back on their shelves by lunch." Keira said as she grabbed the cart and started wheeling it around the desk. Cindy smiled thankfully as she went back to work on the stack of papers in front of her.

Hours went by as Keira slowly made her way through the shelves, barely making a dent in the seemingly endless piles of books in the cart. Once she had finally made it about halfway through the load of books, she stopped as she picked up a black book with red letters on the cover. She tilted her head to the side as she read the title.

"…'Tobin's Spirit Guide'?" She murmured. She opened the cover and scanned through a few pages of the book, intrigued.

She barely noticed the cold tingling that quickly spread through her shoulders and chest. She gasped in surprise as the book fell to the floor.

"L-Lucille, stop it-" She choked as the cold snaked through her veins.

 _Move!_

Lucille shoved her way into Keira's thoughts and Keira felt herself surrounded in a misty, cold world. She could still see the library around her, but she knew that Lucille was now in control of her body. She felt herself turn around and walk quickly to the end of the aisle, leaving the library cart and fallen book in the middle of the shelves.

"Keira? Hey, Keira!"

 _Who is that? What…Lucille, what's going on?_

"Shut up…" She heard Lucille, using her voice growl under her breath. But Keira felt herself turn back towards the voice anyway, her shoulders stiff.

"Hi…Ray." She heard herself murmur slowly. Sure enough, Ray Stantz stood in front of her, a styrofoam cup of coffee in his hand. He smiled easily at her before offering it to her.

"I brought you some coffee. You look a little tired…rough night?" He asked.

"I…well…yeah, I guess so." Keira heard herself say. She glanced down at the coffee and slowly took it from him. "Thank you."

"I also wanted to ask you…where were you yesterday? We thought you were coming by after you finished here."

 _How are you going to answer that, Lucille?_

Lucille mentally shoved her back and Keira drifted into unconsciousness. Lucille, as Keira smiled apologetically at Ray.

"Matt took me home. I got through the rest of the day fine, but had a relapse as I was leaving." She smiled nervously. "Nearly fainted as we were walking out the door."

"Oh." He said guardedly as he studied her. Lucille lowered her gaze to the ground as he noticed him looking at her eyes. She fidgeted with the cup of coffee in her hands.

"Did you bring me this just to have an excuse to talk to me or are you genuinely concerned about me?" She asked hesitantly. Ray chuckled lightly before scratching the back of his head.

"Well, yes to both really. We've all got a speculation that we wanted to check out yesterday with you, and when you didn't show, we got worried. I'm here to…escort you back to the firehouse. It'd be easier if you came willingly."

Lucille frowned and took a step backward, internally panicking. She bit her lip before forcing herself to calm down.

"…and if I…don't…come willingly?" She asked. Ray smiled.

"We both know that you will." He said. When she didn't move, he shrugged. "I told Cindy we were borrowing you for a little while, and she's okay with it."

Lucille's eyes drifted from the man in front of her to the aisle past him where her exit would be. She could probably easily outrun the heavily armed Ghostbuster, but then there was no way to know if the others would be waiting outside the building just for that reason. She glanced back up at Ray cautiously.

"Um…alright. Let me just…got get my purse." She said. She edged her way past the man and walked quickly towards the front of the library, kicking the book Keira had dropped under the cart.

* * *

After the library had drifted out of focus, the real Keira found herself in the darkened alley again. She spun around hurriedly looking around for any sign of the other people she had seen there before. When she got none, she slowly edged her way through the shadows, feeling her way along the rough brick of the buildings around her.

"Lucille?" She called out after a moment. The distant sounds of the city streets beyond the alley echoed to her and she shivered at the cold that surrounded her.

 _Keira…_

Keira stopped and looked around for the source of the raspy voice. She pulled her hands away from the walls of the alley and continued back towards the brightly lit main street.

"Lucille? This isn't funny!" Keira shouted, her voice high pitched with fear. She could hear footsteps growing near to her and she quickly ran for the light in front of her. Her head was suddenly spinning and the light she was running towards disappeared in a swirl of darkness.

 _Keira!_

Keira shuddered at the sound of Lucille's voice. Her mind was clouded and her head ached.

 _Keira, I know you can hear me. I need you to listen to me._

Keira could hear other voices past Lucille's, but they were too faint to understand what they were saying.

"What was that…?" Keira asked.

 _Shhh!…I'll explain later. When I let you wake up, you need to tell them I'm not here. Get them off my trail. Please…_

Lucille's voice was full of fear and emotion. Keira exhaled slowly, the nausea easing off slightly. Then she nodded.

"Keira?"

"She's waking up."

Her eyes opened to see that she was in a brightly lit room with the hum of machines around her. She looked around confusedly as she attempted to sit up. She felt a hand lay firmly on her shoulder and press her back down.

"Hang on, we'll get this stuff off of you before you try to get up."

Keira squinted at the man standing above her and recognized Dr. Stantz as he removed what looked like wires with little dots on the ends from her temples.

"What's going on?" She asked. Ray looked down at her quizzically.

 _You idiot!_

Lucille's voice screamed across her mind and Keira winced. A computer to her right beeped shrilly.

"Ray, it's there…" Egon swung around from the computer and looked down at Keira with a strange looking gadget in his hand. Lights flashed as he held it closer to her face and Keira squeezed her eyes shut against the glare.

 _I can't help you, or they'll find me. I'm putting my trust in you, Keira._

Lucille said, her voice growing distant. Keira opened her eyes as she felt herself come fully back into control of her body. The cold still left her numb and discombobulated but she slowly sat up to face the two men, confusedly.

"No! It's gone again…" Egon said, shaking the meter in his hand. The computer behind him went silent. Ray gently peeled the rest of the circles from Keira's forehead.

"We know something is up, Keira. But you're back now, aren't you?" Ray asked, looking into her eyes with a small flashlight. Keira blinked as he clicked off the light after a few seconds.

"I…I think so." She said slowly.

"Look at these readings, Ray. It does match the ones from when we first encountered that ghost at the library…" Egon said as he motioned for Ray to come over to the computer.

Keira looked around and could see that she was in a lab of some sort, surrounded by what looked like giant computers and technical…stuff. Flashing lights blinked from different parts of the computer and the Ghostbusters' packs were sitting on a table next to them. From that she gathered that she was at the Ghostbusters' headquarters.

"Have you noticed anything…off…about yourself lately, Keira? Besides the fainting spells?" Ray asked as he turned back to her. She shifted her gaze around nervously, debating whether or not to tell them she knew about the ghost.

"Anything at all?" Egon prompted her after she remained silent for a few seconds. She met their eyes levelly after a moment.

"What do you mean? What do you think is wrong?" She asked, making herself sound only slightly worried.

"We think you're possessed. By that ghost from the library." Ray said. Keira held her breath.

"It would make sense. It latched onto you and that's how we lost trace of it. It would also explain the fatigue and fainting spells you've been having." Egon said. He turned back to the computer.

"If that were true, wouldn't I know about it?" She asked. Her gaze drifted between the two men in front of her.

"If the ghost _wanted_ you to know about it." A voice said from across the room.

Dr. Venkman strolled into the lab followed by Winston who was carrying a smoking trap. As he reached the group around the computer, Peter leaned against the couch Keira was laying on.

"Ghosts are pretty sneaky guys." He finished. Keira swallowed as she noticed his gaze boring through hers. "They have ways of getting past a person's version of reality and making it their own."

"Venkman, ease up." Ray said warningly as he noticed Keira's unnerved expression. Peter flashed an annoyed glance at Ray and rolled his eyes.

"I'm…sorry…but I just don't believe this." Keira said. She turned to where her feet fell off the side of the couch she was on and she slipped into her shoes.

"Well, don't leave on our account." Peter said, sounding just a little apologetic. Keira looked up at the four silent Ghostbusters, wishing they would push her to stay and reveal what she knew about the ghost in her mind.

"We can help you, Keira." Ray said softly. She swung her gaze to him and opened her mouth to say something when Winston interrupted.

"You make it sound like she's some kind of an asylum patient, Ray. That's not gonna make her want to listen to us." Winston said. Keira blinked and smiled slightly.

"No, I understand what you're saying. I just…can't take it seriously. I mean…I would know by now if I were possessed." She said. She stood up. "I really need to be going…I lost track of the time…"

"It's just after lunch. Want me to drive you back to the library?" Ray offered. She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"No…I'll stop by and pick up some lunch on my way back. Thank you though." She said, smiling thankfully at him. She glanced briefly at the other three Ghostbusters who eyed her warily as she passed them. She had just crossed the room when she realized she didn't know the way out.

"I…I'll show you out." Ray said quickly as he rushed after her. Keira felt herself blush in embarrassment as he gestured towards a door on the opposite wall of the room. She could hear Peter snicker as she turned her back on the other Ghostbusters. She stayed silent the whole way out of the firehouse and then broke down into frustrated tears as she headed down the sidewalk in search of a cab.


	10. Bars and Nightmares

**Hey guys! I know this chapter may seem a little long, or that it sounds like it stops in the middle of something, but I knew that if I left it with the next section I have planned it would be WAY too long and without the dream sequence, it would be too short. So I hope you'll forgive me for that.**

 **I'm going out of town for the weekend, but I'm hoping I'll have time to write because I have a lot planned for the upcoming chapter! So, keep an eye out and I'll try to have the next chapter up by maybe Sunday or Monday at the earliest. At the latest, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday. Thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with the story so far and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to review or message me if you have any questions! :D**

 _That wasn't good enough._

Keira sat in her darkened room, shades drawn, curled into a ball on her bed. She had gone back to work at the library until closing time, but she didn't bother to stay after to gossip with Cindy like she usually did. She had hurried home and had locked the door tight behind her and collapsed on her bed for a long cry. She sniffled and rubbed her tear streaked face as her frustrations welled up inside her.

"I'm sorry, Lucille. You…you must know enough about me to realize that I'm not good with confrontations like that. Why did you leave it up to me?" She said, her voice choked with emotion. She heard Lucille scoff and could hear the scorn in her voice.

 _They were already on to me. The tests they were attempting to run – pure idiocy by the way – I was able to foil a few of them but when they sent that electric shock through my brain, I knew they would be able to find me._

"Electric shock?" Keira breathed. She felt her heart skip a beat in fear. _What kind of madmen were these Ghostbusters?_

Keira looked at the clock next to her bed and could see that she'd been laying in bed for over an hour.

 _What is your problem?_

Keira pinched her eyebrows together in anger. She tried to steel her mind so that she could block out Lucille's voice. After a moment she heard Lucille laugh at her attempts.

 _It's too late for that, Keira._

"What are you talking about?" Keira squeaked. She let out the breath she had been holding and squeezed her knees to her chest even tighter.

 _You agreed to this, Keira…_

Keira's breath was sucked out of her lungs as she felt an icy chill spread through her limbs. She hurriedly sat up and tried to shake the growing cold from her arms, to no avail.

"No! No, please, not again!" She cried. Her heart pounded and as the cold grew closer to her chest, she felt herself slip slowly backward.

"Sleep now, Keira. I've got more work to do." Lucille said, using Keira's voice as she stood up smoothly from the bed.

 _No…please…_

* * *

Lucille was dressed in some dark colored jeans and a black lacy shirt when Matt knocked on her door a few hours later. She smiled at him knowingly as she stepped out of her apartment and let him lead her downstairs.

"So what's this surprise date you have planned, Keira? I must say, this is out of the norm for you to plan things." Matt chuckled as they reached the lobby and exited the apartment building in search of a cab. Lucille shook her head.

"You don't want to ruin the surprise, do you Matt? I just wanted to liven things up a little bit before we settle down in a few months." She said sweetly. Matt smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

As they got into a cab, Lucille leaned over the seat and gave the driver directions and then relaxed in the backseat as he pulled back into traffic. Matt still had his arm draped over her shoulders, which she seemed to ignore.

"So…I was thinking we could get together this weekend to talk about wedding plans. My mother and sister kinda have ideas they want to negotiate with you." Matt said after a few minutes had gone by in silence. Lucille pursed her lips.

"I don't think it's really their place to make decisions for _our_ wedding, Matt." She said softly. Matt, who was on the verge of adding on to what he'd said, stopped and shut his mouth in surprise. He looked away from her and out the window for a second before coming up with a reply.

"Well, Keira. I just thought you might want _some_ help putting the wedding together…" He said, sounding slightly offended. Lucille looked out her window as the cab driver slowed the car.

"We're here. Come on, let's go!" Lucille said as she pushed open the door. Matt quickly paid the driver and scrambled out of the cab after who he thought was his fiancé.

"Where-Keira…this is a bar…" Matt said as they stood on the sidewalk. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly.

"We need a _real_ night on the town, don't you think? I mean, we always do the dinner thing and that gets a little… _boring_ sometimes. This is gonna be fun, trust me." Lucille flashed him a quick smile before dragging him inside.

Once they'd made it to the bar, the bartender glanced questioningly at Matt and Lucille before bringing them their drinks. Lucille glanced around at the crowded bar as she sipped at her martini, then noticed Matt's silence and discomfort. She turned and laid a hand on his arm.

"What's wrong?" She asked over the blare of the music. He looked around before meeting her gaze.

"I just…whenever I suggested we go out like this, you always said no. I'm just surprised, is all." He said as he picked up his beer. Lucille laughed.

"The good kind of surprised, right?" She asked. Matt nearly choked as he gulped his beer. She grinned at him as she finished her drink and ordered another one.

"I'm always eager to see your adventurous side. That rarely happens when you've got a book in your face though." He said good humoredly. Lucille rolled her eyes.

"Oh, let's go dance!" She said quickly as she quickly downed her second drink and pulled him away from the bar. Before he could protest, they were in the middle of the dance floor, the music pounding so loudly that they couldn't even tell what the song was.

Lucille grinned as Matt finally broke down and started dancing with her through the crowd. She kept her eyes on other couples around them and finally stopped near the edge of the dance floor where she spotted who she'd been looking for.

The same man and woman from the restaurant the night before sat in a booth sipping on their cocktails and chatting. Lucille narrowed her eyes.

"I didn't know you could dance, Keira! We should have done this a long time ago…" Matt said, pulling her close. He kissed her cheek, brushing the long blonde hair away from her face. Lucille smirked.

"I know." She said.

Her eyes flickered back to the booth where the woman was getting up to leave. The man sat there smiling to himself as he finished off his cocktail. Lucille stood on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against Matt's ear.

"I'll be right back. Why don't you go get us another couple of drinks and I'll meet you back at the bar?" She said. Matt smiled and nodded, walking around the crowded dance floor back towards the bar. As he got out of her sight, she plastered on another seductive smile before throwing her blonde hair over her shoulder and heading towards the booth where the man sat alone, waiting for the brown haired woman to return.

"This seat taken?" She asked. The man looked up in surprise as she slid into the seat next to him.

"Uh…" He started as he looked in the direction the other woman had gone. Lucille smiled at him and made herself blush.

"Bars make me uncomfortable. I keep telling my fiancé that, but he doesn't listen." She said. The man raised an eyebrow at her.

"Your fiancé?" He asked. She nodded and made a show of rolling her eyes.

"I've had bad experiences with a fiancé before. I'm hoping this one will work out better but, who knows, right?" She asked gently. She met his eyes and he studied her thoughtfully.

"Do I know you?" He finally asked after a moment. Lucille smiled.

"I don't know…do you?" She asked as she leaned forward and kissed him deeply on the lips. His eyes widened at first and then he relaxed into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her.

"John…" She breathed.

"Lucille?" He murmured against her mouth.

"…Keira?!"

Lucille quickly pulled away from the man in front of her as Matt's surprised voice broke through her thoughts. The man in front of her stared in confusion as Lucille jumped up from the booth and towards Matt who was holding two more beers.

"I think we need to leave now, Matt. I…" She buried herself in Matt's chest, forcing a sob into his shirt. Matt stared down at the wide-eyed man in the booth who was shaking his head in confusion.

"I'm sorry…I thought she was someone else." The man stammered. Lucille turned her head to smirk at him, unseen by Matt.

"Yeah, that's always the go-to answer, fella. Come on, Keira." Matt said as he handed her a beer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Lucille took a sip of the drink as she leaned against him and allowed him to walk her away from the man in the booth.

* * *

"Lucille?!" Keira called out as she found herself in the dark alley once more. She spun around looking for anything that would help her when she noticed a man standing beside her.

 _"_ _Lucille…we've gotta go, sweetheart."_ He said gently. His voice was deep and laced with what sounded like dismay.

"I'm not…" She started to say but he didn't seem to hear her. He pressed his lips into her forehead in a reassuring kiss and she blinked in confusion.

She shrunk away a little bit, her heart beating rapidly in her chest and then jumped as she felt his arm tighten protectively around her. He nudged her forward and they started walking down the alley.

 _"_ _We shouldn't be down here…"_ She heard herself say in Lucille's voice. The man's hand rubbed down her arm comfortingly. Keira shivered in the cold night air.

 _"_ _I know. I'm just meeting someone real quick before we go home. It's alright."_

Keira stared at the shadows around them, not knowing where the other two men would appear. She pressed herself into the side of the man next her, both for warmth and for protection.

 _"_ _You're a long way from home, kids."_ A rough voice sounded from their right. Keira jumped at how close the voice was and was shoved behind the man she was with.

 _"_ _John…"_ She heard herself breathe shakily. The man stood between her and the other man, still concealed in the shadows.

 _"_ _We…we don't want any trouble."_ John said slowly. The man laughed.

 _"_ _Anybody who comes down here isn't looking for much else."_

 _"_ _Hey there, Beautiful…"_

Keira jumped back as another man stepped out of the shadows behind her. John shoved her behind him once more, back towards the opening of the alleyway. She could see both of the other men turning to follow after them.

 _"_ _You guys don't work for Henry Vestal, do you?"_ John tried. The men laughed as they advanced on them even quicker.

 _"_ _Nah…there ain't no Henry here."_ The first man said. He pulled what looked like a gun from his right pocket and Keira could hear the click as he took the safety off.

 _"_ _John…John please…"_ Keira heard herself say as she clung to his jacket. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife.

 _"_ _Then I guess we're in the wrong place after all. If you let us go in peace, I promise I'll make it worth your while."_ John reasoned.

The second man scoffed as he grabbed for Keira's purse which was draped over her shoulder. Keira heard herself scream as John swung his pocket knife at the man's arm. The man cried out as John made a deep cut in his shoulder.

 _"_ _Lucille, get out of here!"_

John shouted at her as he shoved her towards the opening of the alley. She ran and reached the main street where cars flew by, unbothered by the scuffle going on just yards away. She stopped and caught her breath, gaining strange looks by the few pedestrians on the sidewalk. There was suddenly a loud gunshot that echoed from the alley. Keira's heart filled with dread.

 _"_ _John!"_

She ran back into the alley and grabbed onto the jacket of the first man she saw.

 _"_ _John! John, you're alright! I was afraid…I thought…"_  
He jerked out of her grasp and whirled around, his knife swinging wildly. Keira froze as she felt the blade strike her chest. She choked out a surprised cry and then her knees gave out.

 _"_ _L-Lucille!"_

"I'm…not…Lucille…" Keira choked out. The pain in her chest was icy cold and she struggled for breath. She knew it was coming, so when her head turned towards the end of the alley, she made sure to focus through the pain so that she could see the white car that flew by.

And as she'd expected, it was the Ghostbusters car.


	11. Uncovering the Truth

**Gosh, ya'll! I'm not gonna bother with much of a side note on this chapter because I like it so much! Spent all of yesterday afternoon writing it and...ugh...the feels! Let me know what you think! :D**

Keira awoke in her bed the next morning with a start, yanking the blankets to her chest in an attempt to block away the still burning pain that lingered there. And like before, she had woken up with tears running down her face.

"Lucille! You've…got to tell me what's going on!" She cried out, burying her face in her comforter.

 _Why?_

Lucille's defensive voice pounded in her head and Keira squeezed her eyes shut against the blanket pressed to her face. Suddenly a wave of nausea came over Keira and she threw the blankets off of her as she dove across the room to her bathroom.

Several minutes later, Keira's trembling hand closed the toilet lid after finally puking her guts out. She sat on her bathroom floor with her cheek pressed against the cool porcelain of the lid, her arms wrapped around her middle.

 _What's wrong? Can't hold your alcohol, Keira?_

Lucille laughed at the sick girl. Keira was too weak to let her anger get the best of her.

"What are you doing to me?" Keira whimpered.

 _I didn't do this to you. You just went out with Matt again last night._

Lucille's voice feigned innocence and Keira could almost hear her smirk.

"You…you mean _you_ went out with Matt again last night." Keira breathed as she placed a hand over her eyes. She peeled herself from the toilet and used the sink next to her to pull herself upright. She glanced at the trash can beneath the sink as she stood and squinted at the plastic bottle that lay on top of it. She planted both of her hands firmly on the sides of the sink before raising her gaze to the mirror.

Her long blonde hair was now black. From root to tip, dark curls rained down around her pale face. And as she'd feared, her lack of sleep had left her with shadows under her blue eyes. She blinked and saw a flash of green in them.

 _Mmm…lovely, don't you think?_

Keira's heart sank as she took in her ghastly appearance and her knuckles turned white as her grip on the sink tightened.

"It's your death, isn't it?" Keira blurted out loudly, causing Lucille's laughter to grow silent. Keira stared at herself in the mirror waiting for the ghost's answer.

 _What are you talking about?_

"The dream I keep having. It's your death that I keep seeing, isn't it?" Keira said. Lucille was silent for a long moment.

 _It's no dream, Keira. It's very real. Every time I take over, you're sent back to my last few living moments._

Keira felt her heart skip a beat as she continued to stare wide-eyed at her reflection.

"Then how-"

Keira was cut off as a sharp knocking sounded at her apartment door. She flicked her gaze back towards her bedroom and then looked back at her reflection in the mirror. She was in her pajama pants and t-shirt, what she usually slept in, and she quickly ran a hand through her newly colored black hair before rushing to the door.

Keira paused at the door, her hand on the knob as she looked through the peephole. It was Matt. She opened the door and let the relief wash over her as she collapsed into his arms.

"Matt! You're not going to believe this…you have to help me!" She cried as she squeezed him tightly. She felt his hands on her shoulders firmly push her away and she withdrew slowly as she realized he wasn't returning her embrace.

She stared up at her fiancé as he took in her disheveled appearance. His eyes were bloodshot which Keira took to mean that Lucille may have been telling the truth about going out drinking with him the night before. His brown hair was messy and he looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep either. His eyes landed on her hair and he scoffed a little.

"What did you do to your hair?" He asked, not really expecting an answer. Keira blinked and self-consciously tugged at a strand of her new dark colored hair. She studied him, confused at his sad expression.

"Matt…what's wrong?" She asked, feeling her heart twist at his cold gaze. He blinked and looked at the ground for a long moment.

"I…I've been thinking. About what happened last night…" He started. He shuffled his feet and shoved his hands into his pockets. Keira recognized both of those things as signs that he was nervous. He'd done the same thing when he'd proposed to her months ago.

"Matt…let me explain…" She said but he closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. She stopped and felt her throat tighten as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I don't need you to say anything. It,..It'll be easier if you just let me do this." He said. He opened his eyes and looked at her sadly, his deep blue eyes shining. "You've been acting…different lately and at first…I kinda liked it. But now I realize…that's not the person I fell in love with. You're not the same as what I'd originally thought you were."

"Matt... _please_ …it's not me! It's-" Keira's voice faltered as Lucille quickly overtook her body. Keira still could see Matt's pain-filled eyes as he bit his lip and stared at her.

"What? What is it then, Keira?" Matt asked, crossing his arms in front of him. Keira felt herself smile halfheartedly.

"It's not me so…it must be you. Maybe I was trying to please you this whole time, and I just…got tired of it. And when I finally show my true colors, you don't appreciate it? I…I'm sorry." Lucille said. Keira internally shook her head in disbelief.

Outwardly, all Matt could see was Keira standing with her chin raised, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were a cold green color as she stared him down fiercely through the shine of tears. He sighed as he looked at the ground once more.

"There you are again with your multiple personalities. I just don't know what to think anymore, Keira. Maybe this was a mistake." He said as he turned away. Lucille stared after him, her mouth tilting up into a slight smirk.

"… _Matt!_ " Keira choked out as she mentally pushed herself forward. She could sense Lucille's surprised anger welling up inside her chest.

Matt slowly turned back towards Keira, hope in his eyes. Keira took a step forward and was suddenly shoved back by a painful shock as Lucille once more took control over her. Keira's mental strength was gone and all she could do was watch as she felt herself slide the blue engagement ring from her left hand.

"…You might want this back." She heard Lucille say softly in her voice. Keira choked back a sob as she unwillingly watched him take the ring gently from her outstretched hand. He nodded sadly at her once before turning away and walking down the hall.

 _Lucille…why…_

"That's one thing out of the way." She heard Lucille mutter in her voice. She turned back to Keira's apartment and closed the door behind her. Lucille let Keira fall forward as she retreated to the back of her mind and the girl collapsed weakly to the floor, shaking with pained, silent sobs.

 _You're weak, you know. Just like I was._

Keira clenched her hand into a fist and squeezed her other arm around her middle as an empty feeling sank over her.

"What do you mean? Why do you keep torturing me like this?" She asked. Keira expected to hear Lucille's belittling laugh, but instead there was silence.

 _You're just like I was, Keira. I had a fiancé, I had a life. I was happy. And then it was all taken from me._

"…By who?" Keira asked through her tears. She could feel a throbbing pain in her chest where in the dream she'd been stabbed. Only, according to Lucille, it wasn't a dream. It was Lucille's memories.

 _You must have seen._

"…John? Y-your fiancé?" Keira asked. She felt a flash of pain as Lucille projected her feelings into her mind.

 _Yes. We were never supposed to be in that alley. But he took me down there and those two thugs came…it was an act though. When I came back, my own fiancé was the one to kill me._

"And that's why you're haunting me? To avenge yourself?" Keira asked, trying to put everything together. Lucille paused and then laughed quietly.

 _No, of course not. I'm fixing things back to the way they were. I'm going to have a second chance, thanks to you._

Keira froze as the ghost's words sank in and then she leapt to her feet as she felt Lucille's cold presence creep over her once more.

"No Lucille! I'm not letting you do this!" Keira cried as she ran to her room for the phone by her bed. She picked it up and quickly dialed, trying to remember the commercials she'd seen.

 _You can't stop me._

"Maybe I can't…but I know who can." She said, gritting her teeth and mentally shoving Lucille away. She heard the ghost growl in her growing anger.

"Ghostbusters." Keira heard a woman answer the phone after several rings. Keira paused for a moment before she quickly could form words.

"Can you tell Dr. Stantz that Keira Jackson is calling? It's an emergency." She said. The voice on the other end of the line sounded bored.

"He's not here right now, they're all out on a call. Can I take a message?"

Keira bit her lip and could feel Lucille struggling for control. The hand Keira held the phone with shook and slowly started to pull away from her ear.

"I'm on my way over. If I'm not there soon…then they should know what happened." Keira said as Lucille caused her to throw the phone across the room, ripping the cord from the wall in the process.

 _No one will know a thing!_

Lucille's infuriated scream caused Keira's slight hangover to grow in intensity. She pressed her hands to the sides of her head, and kept mentally pushing the ghost back. After a long moment, she heard Lucille's sour laughter.

 _You're going to give in. You're only running on adrenaline now. But I can feel you weakening each time I take over._

The frigid cold sensation seeped around Keira's arms and down her forearms. Keira lashed out and grabbed a pocket knife from her nightstand where she'd stashed it for emergencies. Without thinking, she flicked it open and sliced it quickly across her left wrist.

Keira froze as she dropped the knife and covered her mouth in horror at what she'd done. She stared at the deep slice she had made and then screamed as, instead of blood, black liquid started to flow from the wound and down her arm. Her vision blurred as she felt Lucille creep closer to taking control.

 _Stupid girl. You think you can get rid of me that easily?_

Keira made herself stumble to the front door of her apartment and out into the hall where the tenants surrounding her were opening their doors to investigate. Lucille's laughter echoed in her mind as people saw the cut on her wrist and scrambled to help her.

"911's on the way!" Someone shouted over the uproar in the hallway.

Keira's vision wavered and she felt the icy cold presence of Lucille as she attempted to pull Keira away from the crowd. Keira's spirit hovered towards the back of her mind as Lucille's anger took over at the people who were dragging her towards the paramedics rushing up the stairs.


	12. Searching for Keira

**Hello everyone! Oh goodness...it's going to be a LONG week. Working an hour over each day this week in addition to half a day Saturday. I'm not super comfortable with what they've had me do the past few days but hopefully the whole week won't be like this. Yesterday I came home and literally sat down, needing a get away from the stress and...this is what happened. :)**

 **Hope you like it, it's a little lengthy, I know, but I figured you wouldn't mind. I'm hoping to get the next bit done by the end of the week, because I'm sure I'll need to another getaway after work one day. Please pray that I'll make it through this stressful work week, ya'll! If I don't...then I guess the story ends here! Haha, don't forget to tell me what you think!**

"I think I could sleep for a week." Peter Venkman complained as he dragged himself out of the Ecto-1. Egon got out of the backseat, rolling his eyes as Venkman made a show of crawling towards Janine's desk.

"I could probably sleep for a month straight." Winston said as he opened up the back of the car and began unloading the proton packs and traps they had stored back there. Peter threw a pouty look at Winston before using Janine's desk to pull himself upright.

"Why don't we run tests like that, Egon? That'd be more fun than some of the other stuff you've had us do in the past." Peter suggested. Egon rounded the car with two proton packs, followed by Winston who held the remaining two.

"Because that's not very useful for what we're trying to accomplish, Venkman. We could instead try to test it the other way around and see how long we can go _without_ sleep, but I doubt any of you would be up for that." Egon said smartly. Venkman flashed an annoyed look at his fellow scientist.

"And you would?" Peter asked. Egon smirked.

"I've tried it in the past. My more recent record is getting only about fourteen minutes of sleep a day. It's possible." Egon said, lugging the heavy proton packs past the dumbfounded Peter and up the stairs. Peter gaped at Ray as the last of the Ghostbusters shut the back of the Ecto-1, carrying three loaded ghost traps in his arms.

"And you've let him do that to himself?" Peter accused Ray. Ray shrugged, unworried.

"I tried to keep up with him, but I always ended up crashing after a few days. Spengler's pretty tough." Ray said with a smirk. Winston laughed as he carried the other two proton packs up the stairs after Egon.

"I don't see how you guys do it. Can't survive without my beauty sleep." Winston said. Peter scoffed.

"Then I guess you haven't been getting enough of it lately." Peter quipped.

"Hey, man…" Winston said in mock offense. Then he laughed as he disappeared into the upper level of the firehouse.

Ray chuckled as he dropped the three traps on the corner of Janine's messily arranged desk. He leaned against it and rubbed at his eyes.

"Man, I wish you guys hadn't brought that up…made me realize how exhausted I am." Ray grumbled. Peter clapped a hand on the man's shoulder.

"We all are, Ray. Janine!" Peter called loudly over his shoulder. The secretary gave him a deadpanned stare as he turned to wink at her. "Hold all of our calls for the rest of the day. The Ghostbusters are gonna sleep for the next week or so. I don't care if Egon's against it."

Peter jogged up the stairs after Egon and Winston. Ray laughed as he picked up the traps and headed for the basement where the containment unit was held.

"Oh, Dr. Stantz!" Janine called after him quickly. "I almost forgot to tell you!"

Ray hurriedly climbed back up the few stairs he'd managed to descend and turned to face her questioningly.

"There was a call earlier. Some girl was asking for you. She was hysterical!" Janine rambled. Ray frowned in thought before looking at the secretary.

"Did she give her name?" He asked, afraid he knew who it was. Janine slumped her shoulders.

"Well, you know we've been really busy…tons of calls today but that one stood out to me. I can't remember all of the names from every single call we get…" She said, waving her hands around as she talked. Ray shook his head to stop her and held out a hand.

"It's okay, Janine, that's not important. What did she say?" Ray asked.

"She said something about it being an emergency, but when I said you all were gone, she wouldn't give me a message." Janine said, ruffling a hand through her short hair. Ray looked around confusedly.

"If it was an emergency, why didn't you try to contact us?" Ray asked. Janine rolled her eyes.

"I _did_ try. That mobile phone thingy you have in the car doesn't half work if you aren't actually _in_ the vehicle, you know." She said, crossing her arms across her chest. Ray sighed.

"How long ago did she call?" He asked. Janine glanced at her watch and raised an eyebrow.

"Um…maybe a little over an hour ago. She said she was going to head over here herself, but I haven't seen anyone come in here since then." Janine said.

Ray pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing the secretary was a little more organized.

"Was there anything else that you remember, Janine?" Ray asked wearily. Janine paused for a moment in thought.

"Yeah…there was something else that stood out to me from that call. She said, 'If I don't get there soon, they'll know what happened' or something along those lines. Very odd." She said slowly. Ray looked up hurriedly.

"Was it Keira Jackson? The girl who was in here yesterday?" He asked quickly. Janine snapped her fingers.

"Yes, that was it! She was-"Janine exclaimed but Ray cut her off as he rushed up the stairs where the other three Ghostbusters were congregating to review the busts they had completed that morning.

"Guys, we've got to go back out!" He blurted out breathlessly as he reached the top of the stairs. Egon looked up from the computer he was working at, a surprised look on his face.

"What happened?" He asked, straightening up. Ray set the loaded traps on the table in the center of the room.

"Keira Jackson called earlier. Janine said she was hysterical about something." Ray said hurriedly. He glanced up as Peter and Winston entered from the bunkroom.

"Ray, there had better be a good reason for keeping me from my nap." Peter said, annoyed. Winston shook his head at the man next to him and looked questioningly back at Ray.

"What did she say?" Egon asked, ignoring Peter. Ray shook his head.

"Janine said she didn't tell her much, but that she decided to come over here on her own. That was over an hour ago." Ray said worriedly. Egon quickly picked up his PKE meter.

"The ghost wouldn't have let her come back here…" Egon said thoughtfully as he reviewed the previous scans in the meter.

"I know, that's why we've gotta go find her. There's no telling what exactly that ghost did to her!" Ray said quickly. Peter walked across the room, stopping Egon and Ray as they rushed to collect the equipment they would need.

"Woah, woah, woah, okay let's just breathe. I thought the girl said she wasn't possessed." He said. Ray and Egon exchanged glances as Peter waited for an answer.

"I theorize that the ghost has a distinct measure of control over Keira by now. That could have been what pulled her away from the firehouse yesterday. And that would account for the strange behavior she's been noticing lately." Egon said. Ray nodded.

"Periods of amnesia…multiple personalities…I'd definitely say those were side effects." Ray said as he grabbed a few of the gadgets on the lab table. Egon grabbed a small bag to put all of their equipment in and helped Ray to pack it quickly.

"How do you know all this? She wouldn't admit anything in front of us yesterday." Peter said. Ray sighed.

"I just have a feeling. When I walked her out yesterday, she seemed on the brink of telling me something but she wouldn't. We've gotta find her, Pete." Ray said as he threw the bag over his shoulder. Egon flicked through the PKE meter in his hand as he followed Ray to the stairs. Peter hurried to keep up.

"Are we all going?" Winston asked. Ray glanced at his watch as he descended the stairs.

"Well, it might take a while. Maybe you two should stay here in case Janine gets a call." Ray said. "We'll take a cab."

"Wait a minute, where are you even going?" Peter asked. Ray stopped as he crossed the garage towards the door. He paused then turned and looked back at the trio of Ghostbusters staring back at him.

"I…I guess I was going to go to the library. But would the ghost really take her back there?" Ray asked, scratching his head thoughtfully. Egon looked up from the meter.

"We could get her apartment number from the other librarian. Check there if she isn't at the library." Egon suggested. Peter shook his head.

"I'm coming with you." Peter said quickly as he grabbed the meter from Egon's hand. Egon frowned at Venkman as he walked to Ray's side.

"Are you sure?" Ray asked, glancing to Egon for help.

"Hey, this girl has a connection with me, I can feel it. If she needs help, I'll be there." Peter said dramatically. Winston and Egon scoffed as Peter clapped a hand on Ray's shoulder and spun the man around towards the door.

"Right, and she'll be so glad to have you as her hero, Venkman." Egon called. Ray grabbed the meter from Peter's hand as he exited the firehouse. Peter narrowed his eyes at Egon and stuck out his tongue as he followed Ray out the door.

* * *

Like they had suggested, Ray and Peter headed to the library first in search of Keira. As Ray had dreaded, Cindy Drummond told them that Keira hadn't shown up for work that morning. There had been no phone call from the girl, which had worried the older librarian. She had no second thoughts as she quickly jotted down Keira's address and apartment number on a scrap sheet of paper and handed it to Ray.

"I hope she's alright. She's such a sweet girl." Cindy said as she looked hopefully at the two Ghostbusters.

"We'll figure it out. She can't be in too much trouble if she's survived this long in New York." Peter said jokingly, but the humor didn't lighten the mood hanging over them.

Ray thanked the head librarian with a half-smile and then turned to lead Peter out of the library and out to the sidewalk to hail a cab.

When they'd reached her apartment, Ray paused at the door as he silently hoped she would answer. Peter stared at him questioningly before Ray looked up and sighed.

"Here goes…" Ray said as he knocked on the door. When there was no answer for a few seconds, Peter knocked a little louder.

"Keira, darling! Your knights in shining armor are here!" He called. There was silence on the other side of the door.

Ray turned to Peter dejectedly as his shoulders slumped. He looked down at the scrap sheet of paper with Keira's name and address on it, confirming for the tenth time that it was correct.

Peter dug into the bag on Ray's shoulder and found the PKE meter which he quickly switched on. Lights and a whirring sound immediately started up as Peter scanned the door and walls. Peter raised an eyebrow as Ray knelt next to him to peer over his shoulder at the screen.

"Excuse me, are you looking for the girl who lives in that apartment?" A voice sounded from behind them. Ray and Peter both turned in surprise to see a young man in his early thirties peeking out from his own apartment down the hall.

"Uh, yes. Have you seen her today?" Ray asked as he stepped towards the man. He nodded quickly.

"It was awful. She was screaming and there was blood everywhere. She had the whole hall in a frenzy trying to help her. I called 911 and they took her to the hospital a few hours ago." He said. Ray's eyes widened as he glanced worriedly at Peter.

"Thank you for telling us!" Ray said as he hurriedly followed Peter back towards the elevator.

"Wait! There was something else. I don't know if it'll help or not, but…her fiancé was here before that happened. Do you think he had anything to do with it?" The man asked, a concerned look on his face. Ray frowned in thought.

"Hard to say. But we're gonna check it out." Ray said as he nodded thanks at the man.

* * *

The two frantic Ghostbusters entered the hospital, looking around scanning for Keira Jackson. As Ray stepped up to the front desk, he pulled out his PKE meter and flicked it on.

"Can I help you?" The nurse acting as secretary asked as she smiled at the two Ghostbusters. Peter leaned across the desk and pursed his lips thoughtfully at the blushing woman.

"Uh…yeah. We're looking for a young lady who checked in about two hours ago." Peter said softly. The nurse smiled and looked down at her computer.

"Name?" She asked. Ray glanced up from the PKE meter which didn't show anything out of the ordinary.

"Keira Jackson." Ray said. He glanced at Peter who had starry eyes for the young blonde nurse in front of him. Peter smirked at his colleague good humoredly and then turned back to the woman as she looked up at him after searching in her computer.

"Yes, she was checked in around eleven this morning." She quickly scribbled Keira's room number on a piece of paper and handed it to Ray. She also handed Peter a sticky note folded in half. He smiled at her flirtatiously as he followed Ray to the elevator.

"What do you think happened?" Peter asked as they waited in the elevator, silence hanging over them as they passed each floor. Ray shook his head.

"I don't know." He said softly. He glanced at the PKE meter as it flickered in his hand briefly. When the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, the meter went wild.

"Wow. She must definitely be here." Peter said, trailing after Ray as the man followed the meter in his hand.

"Oh goodness! You guys certainly have prompt service!" A nurse exclaimed as she rounded the corner of the hallway and nearly bumped into Ray who was crouched over the meter. Ray quickly glanced up at the woman who pointed down the hallway. "We called you not ten minutes ago! How'd you get here so fast?!"

"We're…looking for Keira Jackson. She's on this floor, isn't she?" Ray asked.

"Oh, is she! Follow me." The woman gestured towards them and the two Ghostbusters followed her to a room at the end of the hall.

"We checked her in a few hours ago. Attempted suicide. The paramedics had to sedate her quickly and as soon as she reached the hospital we had to sedate her again with a larger dose." The nurse quickly explained. Ray glanced confusedly at Peter who was looking equally intrigued.

"Attempted suicide…?" Ray said softly. He glanced into the room and could see a large bed in the center of the room occupied by a small figure. A heart monitor beeped slowly every few seconds, signaling that the girl was sleeping. The nurse paused as she stood in the doorway of the room, blocking a good portion of the room from Ray and Peter's view.

"She had slit her wrist. But that's not the main problem…" The nurse slid out of the Ghostbusters' way as she gestured into the room. Ray's eyes widened as nearly every object that wasn't nailed the ground was levitating in midair.

"Woah…" Peter said, voicing Ray's amazement. Ray slowly stepped into the room, careful to avoid the floating chairs and side table around the bed. Ray peered at the girl in the hospital bed and blinked as he did a double take.

"Are you sure this is Keira Jackson?" Ray asked, glancing at the nurse. The woman nodded quickly and Ray looked back at the girl.

She was deathly pale and, instead of her long blonde locks framing her face, her hair was jet black.

"We'll take care of this." Peter said as he shooed the nurse away from the room and closed the door. Once she was gone, he turned to see Ray who was inching closer to the girl with the PKE meter.

"It's odd…the meter keeps flickering between sensing an abnormal entity and sensing nothing." Ray said thoughtfully. "This is a pretty tricky ghost…"

As Ray neared the sleeping girl, the objects on the floating bedside table started to tremble. A glass of water and a blue vase with white flowers quivered in the air next to Ray's shoulder.

"Creepy…" Peter commented as he took a step forward, watching eagerly as Ray stared at the girl in front of him.

Keira's eyebrows were pinched together in her sleep as if she were dreaming. Ray's gaze trailed down to her left arm which was bandaged up tightly from her wrist nearly to her elbow. Her breathing grew rapid as Ray watched her and suddenly the heart beat on the monitor across from him started to speed up.

"…Keira?" Ray asked, thinking that she was waking up. Peter edged towards the door as Ray glanced briefly at him, ready to call the nurse back in if needed.

As if she could hear him, the glass of water on the table floating next to Ray shattered and water droplets flew through the air, suspended by the telekinetic energy in the room. Ray shielded his face as the shards of glass flew towards him in slow motion. He looked up as the vase started to shake violently, the water in it spilling out with the tremors. Ray grabbed for the vase quickly and with his other hand, he reflexively grabbed for Keira's bandaged hand.

The vase fell into his grasp as gravity took over, sending the floating furniture and various objects tumbling to the ground. Ray set the vase back on the now stationary table, noticing that a note card had fluttered to the tabletop. He reached for it to read what it said, but was beat to the chase as Peter scooped it up in his grasp.

"Just says it's from Matt. The fiancé?" Peter asked. Ray nodded.

"He must have visited her earlier. That's kind of odd though, don't you think?"

"What? The guy wanted to visit her when he heard she was in the hospital. What's odd about that?" Peter said.

"Well…what about the floating arrangement we just walked into?" Ray said. Peter shrugged.

"The nurse did say they had to sedate her pretty heavily. Maybe he came as soon as they got her settled in here, sat with her for a while and then left before we got here. That could've given her time to burn off some of those meds." Peter said, glancing at the chart on the end of Keira's bed.

"…And it could be the ghost trying to wake up. So that would mean…" Ray started. He glanced down at Keira and was surprised to see that her eyes were wide open, staring straight at him, her fingers curled tightly around his.


	13. Second Thoughts

**I really really** ** _really_** **am sorry for not** **updating for the past week. Like I said before, last week really hit me hard. I knew it would, but I was still surprised that I didn't even have energy to write when I got home every day like I usually try to do. I hope you guys forgive me! But last week did have its perks...I splurged and got a Ghostbusters costume from Spirit Halloween Friday, sort of as a celebration for surviving the week. I LOVE IT.**

 **Please tell me if I need to change anything in this chapter, or any suggestions you may have for where the story goes in the future. I'm always eager to get some feedback! :)**

Keira looked around confusedly. She was once again in the alley from Lucille's past, only this time it was empty. Silence surrounded her as she tried to figure out how she'd gotten there this time. She peered through the shadowy corners, expecting the men to come running at her. She waited, looking for any sign of Lucille's fiancé, John, but there was no sign of movement anywhere around her.

"Now we're both trapped here."

Keira turned at the sudden cold voice.

Standing behind her was a tall, pale woman with dark hair. She wore a deep green dress with a thin black sweater and matching heels. Her bright green eyes shone through the dim lights of the alley.

"…Lucille?" Keira said quietly. The woman narrowed her eyes in anger. Her dark red lips twitched as she stepped towards Keira, arms crossed.

"You said you were going to help me." She said, keeping her voice even. Keira blinked and shrunk back from Lucille, shivering with the cold.

"You led me to believe that I was helping you. But that clearly wasn't your plan. You're trying to get rid of me so you can take over!" Keira protested. Lucille grimaced and grabbed Keira's left wrist. A sharp pain ran up her arm and Keira looked down to see the fresh cut across her wrist.

"Well, I'm the only thing keeping you alive right now, so it looks like _you_ need _my_ help." Lucille said. Keira yanked her arm away from the ghost, and studied the wound. It looked like a clean cut straight across her wrist, only…there was no blood. It was as if she had nothing but darkness under her skin.

"Lucille…where are we?" She cried out. The surrounding alley seemed to be swirling in and out of focus. Lucille merely raised an uninterested glance around her before glaring back at Keira.

"In your unconscious. Stuck here because you stupidly tried to commit suicide to try and stop me." Lucille said sharply. Keira backed away as the ghost's eyes flashed in irritation.

"The last I saw…the paramedics were coming…" Keira said.

"And you left me in a position that I couldn't get out of. So they took us away and when I tried to escape, they sedated me." Lucille rolled her eyes. "You're so weak, do you know that? I mean, even with my combined supernatural strength, they had enough to put us down."

Keira blinked at the young woman in front of her. It was unsettling to see the ghost look so normal, but that did little to calm Keira's nerves. She looked around as a breeze drifted through the alley.

"What are you planning to do when I wake up?" Keira asked nervously. Lucille's red lips turned into a smirk.

"It won't be you that wakes up. I'll take care of whatever's going on out there and then I'll be back on track." Lucille leaned forward and Keira jumped back in surprise. "And then you'll just be that tiny voice in the back of my mind that I'll always ignore."

"Lucille, you can't do this! There's got to be something else I can do to help you. You can't just…take everything I have and change it around to make it your own!" Keira exclaimed, stepping back once more as Lucille shook her head. A wicked smirk appeared on the girl's face.

"Keira…" She said, her voice low as she feigned concern. "Is this about Matt?"

Keira froze as the memory of his visit to her apartment that morning rushed back to her. Tears welled up in her eyes and she turned away from Lucille's taunting stare.

"There's nothing but pain left for you there, Keira. Let me take care of things for you." Lucille said.

Keira's shoulders slumped and she felt her throat tighten in emotion. What if she did let the ghost take over? Where would that put her? She finally glanced back up to Lucille and was shocked to find that she was no longer there.

"L-Lucille?" She called, her voice echoing through the cold alley. She wrapped her arms around herself and turned to look behind her.

Suddenly cold hands latched onto Keira's neck, shoving her back against the alley wall. She cried out in surprise and saw Lucille's gleaming green eyes flash in anger.

 _"…Stop!"_ Keira shrieked as she twisted and shoved Lucille against the wall, breaking her grip. Keira quickly spun around and fled away from the ghost. She ran as fast as she could, stumbling as sudden shadowy obstacles appeared in her path. Her vision started to blur and the alley seemed to slowly melt away.

" _Keira!"_ Lucille screamed. Her voice was distorted as the wind in the alley suddenly howled, reflecting the ghost's anger.

Keira felt a sudden warm grip tighten around her left hand and she felt herself yanked upward. For a brief second, her vision was totally black. Then she found herself lying in bed in a strange white walled room. She could hear a monitor beeping to her right in time with her pounding heart. She still felt a grip in her hand and she looked to her left to see who was holding it.

"Dr. Stantz?" She asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room. The Ghostbuster stared down at her. For a long time he said nothing and then straightened himself as he looked from her hand that was clenching his tightly back to her terrified face.

"Keira?" He said softly. "You…are Keira, aren't you?"

Keira blinked in confusion and then remembered that he had speculated her possession before. She nodded slowly, struggling to see past the foggy feeling in her head from the medication.

"I think so." She said. Ray nodded, staring at her worriedly.

"What just happened?" A voice from the other side of the hospital room said. Keira glanced up, startled as Peter crossed the room and stood on the other side of the bed.

"I could ask you both the same thing." Keira said slowly, staring back and forth from Peter's skeptical face to Ray's curious one.

"Do you know where you are?" Ray asked her gently. She swung her gaze back to him and then scanned the room around them.

"In…the hospital?" She said unsurely. Ray nodded. "H-How did you know where to find me?"

"We went to your apartment when Janine told us you'd called. When you weren't there, one of your neighbors told us about your…accident." He said slowly. Keira blinked as she threw a quick glance at her tightly bandaged wrist. Her heart sped up as she remembered what Lucille had told her and the lack of blood from the wound. Part of her wanted to unwrap the bandage just so she could confirm what she'd seen but the other part of her was terrified.

"…you alright?"

Keira looked up hurriedly as Peter raised an eyebrow at her dazed look. She felt her fingers tighten around Ray's hand which was still in her grasp. She looked at his hand curiously as he turned hers over and realized that he was examining the thin tan line where her engagement ring had been. When he noticed her looking, he quickly released her and coughed uncomfortably.

"It…wasn't an accident." She said after a long moment. Ray cast Peter a glance.

"What do you mean?" Ray asked.

"It's all true. Everything you tried to tell me about that ghost…she's trying to kill me!" She blurted out. The monitor next to her sped up in time to her rapidly beating heart. Ray gently pushed her back into the large pillows behind her.

"We know…that's why we're here." Ray said reassuringly. "So you're saying the ghost did this to you?"

"No…I-I did it." Keira said quickly, stammering as she realized how crazy that sounded.

As she'd expected, Ray and Peter both went silent as they glanced worriedly at each other.

"I didn't think it through…I understand that now. She's gotten…too strong I think." Keira sighed in frustration as she could feel the medication messing with her. She blinked slowly as she leaned back groggily against the pillows.

"So now you believe us?" Peter taunted her.

"Venkman…" Ray muttered a warning, but Keira shook her head.

"I never didn't believe you. I was just…led to believe that I was helping her. When actually, it turned out she was just using me." She said, trying to keep her voice even.

"When you say 'her'…" Peter started.

"I mean, the ghost. Her name is Lucille." Keira said. Peter raised an eyebrow.

"This ghost is talking to her, Ray. Is that normal?" Peter asked. Ray looked thoughtful for a moment.

"For a class three that's kind of odd, but we learn new things every day. What kinds of things does she say?"

"Well, not really anything threatening, at least not until recently. I've learned a lot about her past from the…dreams I've been having." Keira tried to explain. She was still having trouble thinking clearly through the medication running its course.

"She gives you dreams?" Ray asked.

"The way she explained it was that…every time she takes over, my conscious is sent back to her last living memory." Keira said. Ray's eyes widened. He quickly stood up and crossed the room to the door.

"I've gotta call Egon. We're bringing you back to the lab…why didn't you tell us this yesterday when you were there?!" He exclaimed.

"Because that wasn't me." Keira said.

"I'm confused. How do you know that you're really… _you_ right now?" Peter asked.

"I think…I think I somehow left Lucille behind in my unconscious. That's where we were before I woke up just now." Her eyes landed on Ray for a long moment as she remembered the strong hand that pulled her out of her nightmare.

"Okay, we can talk more about this back at the firehouse. I'll be right back. Pete…" Ray's gaze stopped on Peter as the other man took his place in the chair beside Keira's bed. "Behave yourself."

Peter scoffed as Ray left the room and he leaned towards Keira comically.

"He gets so obsessed about these things. I guess I should apologize for him." He muttered. His eyes landed on her face for a moment. "I like what you've done with your hair. Makes you look…darker."

Keira found herself laughing quietly as she acknowledged his attempts to make her feel better.

"Well, you can thank the ghost for that. I had no say in the matter." She said. Peter smiled teasingly.

"We'll get you figured out, Keira. Don't worry about it." he said.

Keira smiled halfheartedly at him and then stared hopefully at the door. She didn't know how long the medication would hold back Lucille, but she knew it probably wouldn't be for long. She only hoped that she would be among the ones who could handle it when the ghost took over again.


	14. Ghostbusters' Custody

**Guys...you might not like me for this...but I'm afraid I've got another super busy workweek ahead of me. I really had intended to write my heart out this week, but if it doesn't happen, please forgive me! I've got it all laid out how I want the next few chapters to go, so hopefully I can just go from there with no trouble. I wanted to go ahead an post what I have before I'm overrun with exhaustion(I know, I'm a little dramatic! ^_^ ) but I'll definitely try my best to post again in a few days. Hope you enjoy a little heart to heart with Ray and Keira! :D**

"I talked with the doctors and they agreed to turn you over to us for a little while, Keira. Egon's on his way over with the car. We're gonna work on getting you checked out of here real quick, and then we'll..." Ray rambled on as he reentered the hospital room. He stopped when he noticed the silence that hung over the other two in the room. Keira still sat in the large bed, her knees pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. Peter sat in a chair next to her with his arms crossed, an uncomfortably bored expression on his face.

"…We'll try to get things figured out." Ray finished as he crossed to the bed. Keira nodded silently as he tried to give her a reassuring smile.

A few seconds later, a doctor and nurse followed Ray into the room and began the process of unhooking Keira from the IV and monitors she had been attached to. She watched the doctor with fearful silence as he checked the tight bandage around her left wrist.

"Looks like you get to go home with the Ghostbusters." The doctor said lightheartedly as he helped Keira to her feet. She nodded curtly and smiled tentatively at Ray and Peter who were waiting patiently by the door.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be in good hands…" The nurse, who had shown Ray and Peter into her room before smiled halfheartedly at the possessed girl.

Keira turned and headed for the door but was stopped by the nurse who quickly handed her the blue vase of flowers from Matt.

"Don't want to forget those!" The nurse chided her. Keira silently took the vase from her and turned back towards Ray and Peter. The haunted look in her eyes didn't escape Ray's notice. He nodded at the doctor in thanks as the three of them left the room and headed on their way out.

Keira's heart pounded in her ears as she followed Ray and Peter through the sterile, white-walled hallways of the hospital. She was still a little woozy from the medication in her system, but she silently hoped it would keep Lucille at bay until the Ghostbusters could put a hand on her situation.

Keira stepped out into the bright afternoon sunlight and squinted to see the brightly painted hearse waiting by the front door. She paused as she stared at the vehicle, remembering the significance of it from Lucille's last memory.

"Come on, Keira. We've gotta get going." Ray said gently as he placed a supporting hand against her back. She blinked away the memory and followed them both to the car and slid in the back with Ray as Peter called shotgun. Egon pulled away from the curb as soon as their doors closed.

"Excited much, Egon?" Peter snapped. The other man ignored him as he silently focused on getting them back to the firehouse as fast as possible.

Keira stared around uncomfortably at the interior of the Ghostbusters' car, wondering why Lucille had chosen to focus on the car flying by the alley as she died. Keira had felt a tinge of anger in the back of her mind, possibly from Lucille each time she had re-lived the ghost's last moments. Keira couldn't help but feel the effects of the ghost's influence on her as she gazed around at the large car.

"Something wrong?" Ray asked, noticing her discomfort.

"In the dream, the last thing Lucille focused on before she died, was this car. I just can't figure out why that's significant to her, though." Keira said. Ray silently studied the girl, wanting her to say more.

"I mean, this car _is_ pretty iconic. Maybe she was a fan." Peter said. Keira shook her head, dismissing the joking manner in his voice.

"I don't think it was a good memory she has of it. Right before I wake up every time, I can feel this desperate anger clawing at her. It's…really hard to explain…I know I'm not doing a very good job." Keira said shakily. Ray smiled at her reassuringly.

"At least you're talking to us now. Yesterday we couldn't get even _that_ much from you." He said. Keira shrugged.

"Like I said, that was Lucille. Every time she's in control, she focuses on her own priorities. I remember…you came up to me in the library yesterday morning and then it was like she immediately shut me out, trying to get away from you." Keira said thoughtfully. Ray's eyes widened.

"So…you're present for some of the time this ghost is in control?" Egon asked, trying to follow the conversation and having missed out on the previous explanations she had given in the hospital. Keira nodded.

"For some of the time. Then it's like she gets a stronger hold over me and we completely switch places." Keira said.

"If you switch places…and you go back to relive her death over and over…how are _you_ not dead from that?" Peter asked confusedly. Keira opened her mouth to say that she had no idea when Egon interrupted.

"If the ghost was to kill her before it has full control over her then that would probably result in a comatose state in which they're both trapped in between worlds. So this Lucille needs to keep her alive until she gains enough strength to overtake Keira's consciousness more fully."

Keira stared at Egon in bewildered silence as what he said sank in. How was Lucille gaining strength and how could Keira stop her before it was too late?

The car fell into silence as Egon continued to drive through the busy afternoon traffic of the city. Keira resorted to staring out the car window, not seeing any of what was in front of her as she worried more and more about the cold and fear spreading through her limbs.

 _It's already too late, Keira._

Keira held her breath as Lucille's weak but present voice echoed in her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut against the voice, but she knew that the medication was starting to wear off. She felt her hands tighten around the cool vase in her grip. Her heart started to pound painfully in her chest and with it, her left wrist throbbed underneath the bandage.

"Hey."

Keira jumped as the sound of her hammering heart was silenced by Ray's intruding voice. Her eyes flew open as she turned her head to see him grasping her left hand reassuringly. He stared back at her hesitantly for a moment before speaking again.

"It's alright." He said. Keira looked around and noticed that the car had stopped and that they were in a garage-like space and that the other two Ghostbusters had already gotten out of the car.

"You don't know…" She said, feeling her throat tighten with emotion. Ray's eyes turned pained as he squeezed her hand. Keira realized that he was trying to hold her attention from the still spreading frigidness in her limbs.

"Actually…I do. It's not exactly the best experience in the world, being possessed." He said, smiling at her knowingly.

"It's happened to you before?" She asked slowly. Ray nodded.

"I'm sure you read about a few of our adventures in the papers you picked out the other day. You must have heard about Vigo the Carpathian?" He started. Keira thought for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah…I thought the name sounded like something someone might name a dog." She said lightheartedly. Ray scoffed.

"Well, he was far more threatening than a dog, I'll tell you that. Tried to possess one of Peter's girlfriend's baby. When we wouldn't let him, as a last resort he possessed me for a few minutes." Ray said. He shook his head. "That wasn't easy to get over."

Keira stared at him in silence. He looked down at her bandaged wrist and once more turned her hand over to see her bare ring finger. When he looked back up at her face, she was crying.

"So what happened between you two?" He asked quietly. She bit her lip as another silent tear ran down her pale cheek.

"The sad thing is…I don't know. I don't even know what she did to him. If she arranged it the night before or if he actually came to the decision himself…I'm not sure. I just…he came to my apartment this morning and…" She stopped as she heard Lucille's mocking laughter in the back of her mind.

"Hey…it's gonna be alright." Ray said as he wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened slightly but when Lucille's presence died down a little bit at his touch, she leaned into his shoulder. "Maybe when we get rid of Lucille…he'll come back."

Keira closed her eyes against Ray's shoulder and shook her head.

"He won't. Not after what she made me say to him." She murmured. Ray held her for a few more minutes until she'd calmed down enough for him to help her out of the car and head up to the lab.

"There they are!" Peter said as they entered the room. He was leaning against the desk where Egon was working, a half-empty bag of chips in his hands.

"Here, we'll just have you sit right here on the couch…again…" Ray said as Keira took her place on the couch. He took the vase from her gently and set it on the counter nest to where Peter leaned. As soon as she'd sat down Egon swiveled around in his desk chair to face her, one of the PKE meters whirring faintly in his hand.

"What does that mean?" She asked as he stared thoughtfully at the device. His eyes raised to hers over the meter and he lowered the gadget to his lap.

"It means that the ghost is awakening. How long ago did they sedate you?" He asked. Keira grimaced.

"How am I supposed to know? I was the one knocked out…" She said hurriedly. Winston, who had entered the room sometime since she'd arrived, scoffed at her quick retort.

"Looks like you've met your match, Egon. Queen of bluntness." He said jokingly. Egon shot him a deadpanned glance before turning back to Keira with the meter.

"It's been a few hours. Long enough to have worn off by now." Ray answered for her. The other three Ghostbusters glanced at him and he shrugged. "You're not the only one who talked to the nurses, Venkman."

"And you haven't felt her presence ever since then?" Egon asked, turning back to his desk. Keira's gaze followed him as she stared at the many different devices he had laid out on the desk.

"Um…on the drive back here I did start to feel something. And then I heard her, but it was kind of faint…" She said. Egon nodded as he turned back to her with a headset on and a bright light shining in her face.

"Makes sense." Egon said as he moved closer to the couch, staring at Keira's face. "What color are your eyes?"

"Um…blue." She said, trying not to squint against the brightness of the light.

"They were green yesterday…" Egon said thoughtfully.

"Because of-" Keira started to answer him.

"Because of the ghost, right. But you were yourself when you left yesterday, am I correct?" Egon said, turning her face slowly as he inspected her eyes.

"Yeah…" She said, looking uncomfortably at Ray where he stood with Peter and Winston who were watching with slight humor in their faces.

"What did we do that could have caused the ghost to finally give up her control to Keira again?" Ray asked, stepping closer to the couch. Egon turned to him, switching the light off and removing the headset.

"I'm not sure what it was exactly. It could have been the stress test we put her through or even the exposure to the little bit of positively charged mood slime we had left," Egon gestured to the small bowl of pink slime in a cabinet next to the desk.

"Well, if you made me hold a bowl of goopy, disgusting slime for ten minutes straight, I'd probably be a little uncomfortably too." Peter said drily. Keira frowned, looking in confusion between all of the men surrounding her. She was having second thoughts about trusting their weird science experiments until a thought struck her.

"She said something about an electric shock." She blurted out. Egon turned back to her while Ray, Winston and Peter all froze confusion. Keira fumbled to continue her explanation as all four pairs of eyes locked on her face.

 _No, Keira…_

Keira snapped her mouth closed and felt Lucille's cold presence start to twine through her veins.

"She's…she's awake…" Keira said worriedly. Egon quickly leapt to his feet looking for something on his desk while Ray moved to the couch next to Keira.

"Okay, okay…so…a shock, you said?" Ray asked quickly, trying to keep her mind preoccupied. Keira blinked against her fading vision and nodded. She could feel a tightness in her chest as Lucille tried to mentally force her back.

"…Um…what can we do?" Winston asked hesitantly as he and Peter both watched the scene unfolding in front of them. Ray glanced up at the other two Ghostbusters as he tried to keep Keira calm.

"Well, you could go back to her apartment and get her a change of clothes." Ray turned to Keira and smiled at her comfortingly. "You don't want to be in your pajamas all day, do you?"

"I…I guess not…" She answered slowly. She looked up at Winston and Peter. "I don't have my purse with me…I don't know how you'll get in…"

"We have ways." Winston smiled. Keira told him which apartment it was and he gestured for Peter to follow him as he headed for the stairs. Peter hesitated, still leaning against the counter with the bag of chips in his hands.

"You sure you'll be alright?" Peter finally asked as Ray glanced at him. Ray looked once more at Keira who was still trying to resist Lucille's icy presence.

"Yeah, we're good here." Ray answered confidently. Keira shrunk against the back of the couch worriedly, not returning his assurance. Peter set the bag of chips on the counter and patted Ray on the back as he headed across the room after Winston.

"We'll try the shock blast…I don't know how effective it was yesterday but that might have been what Lucille was referring to…" Egon said as he turned around with the small dots that he placed on Keira's temples.

"Are you sure it'll work?" Keira asked as Ray told her to lie down flat on the couch. He stood up and moved to the desk to help Egon set up the experiment.

"We'll see." Egon said. Keira's heart sank as she felt Lucille's anger finally burst through her barrier.


	15. Confrontation

**Hey everyone! I figured, since it's the first day of October, my favorite month of the year, I needed to update. So here's the next chapter! My brother has been sneaking into my room and adding on to where I've stopped and I'm actually saving it to another document to entertain him. It's actually pretty funny, so I might end up tagging that on to the end when I'm finished with this story if you all would be interested.**

 **For anyone who doesn't know, I mention the Dark Matter Generator in this chapter. In the Ghostbusters Wii game that I've played almost three times through now, one of my favorite weapons on the proton pack is the Shock Blast which sends out a burst of Dark Matter particles to attack the ghosts. It's pretty cool. Just wanted to put a disclaimer on here that I wasn't the one who made that up. :)**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

"Stop, stop! I…I can't do this!" Keira cried out suddenly as she sat upright and pulled off the rubber spots from the sides of her forehead. Ray and Egon both turned to look at her quizzically.

"What's wrong?" Ray asked. Keira stared worriedly at the desk where Egon was hooking up a smaller version of proton pack.

"This is our modified version of the Dark Matter Generator…it's not harmful to you, Keira. Just the ghost." Egon explained as he turned around with the small thrower. Keira's eyes followed the movements his hands made as he powered up the thrower. A distinct hum flooded through the room and the girl's posture immediately straightened as she slid along the couch out of the path of the thrower.

"Hang on, Spengler…" Ray said as he narrowed his eyes at Keira's sudden change of actions. He leaned forward and placed his hand under her chin, tilting her face up towards his. She flinched at his touch but unwillingly met his gaze.

"…What is it?" Keira asked hesitantly as Ray stared at her. Ray quickly backed away a few steps and murmured something that she couldn't hear to the other Ghostbuster.

"…worth a try." Egon said back to him. Keira shook her head and started to get up from the couch as the two of them turned back to her. Ray moved back towards her and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"Easy there, Lucille." He said. She looked up at him sharply, her eyes wide. She stared unblinkingly at him as he smiled knowingly.

"What-"

"Yeah, we know it's you. Sorry we haven't all been properly introduced. I'm Ray Stantz and this is-"

"I don't care!" She blurted out angrily. She placed her left hand on the arm of the couch, edging away from the two Ghostbusters. She attempted to push herself to her feet with the strength of her left hand but winced as the pain of Keira's fatal cut hit her.

Ray knelt next to her and gently took her arm to examine it. She withdrew from his grasp hurriedly, a pained gasp escaping her. He looked surprised as she jerked her arm away from him.

"You can feel her pain?" He asked, intrigued. The ghost's green eyes flashed angrily at him in response.

"Which most likely means that wherever Keira was sent to, she can also feel the pain from the ghost's memory…" Egon said thoughtfully. Lucille flicked her gaze to him, with panic in her eyes.

"How much has she told you?" She muttered, not really directing the question towards the two Ghostbusters. Her gaze darted around the room thoughtfully as Ray glanced confusedly at Egon.

That split second was all it took for Lucille to leap to her feet and dash past Ray and Egon on her way for the door. Clutching her pained left wrist to her chest, she nearly knocked over the abandoned vase on the edge of the counter as she ran for it.

Suddenly a loud bang sounded in front of her and she was thrown back across the room towards the Ghostbusters. She flinched as spots swam across her vision and whirled around to see that Ray and Egon both wore amused expressions on their faces. Egon lowered the thrower from where he had fired it towards the ghost.

"He didn't have to miss, you know." Ray said as he crossed the room and offered her his hand to help her stand. Lucille stared at his hand for a long moment before struggling to her feet on her own, ignoring his help.

"You're both insane." She muttered as she glared at the two Ghostbusters. Egon shrugged as he set the thrower on the table next to the rest of the pack.

"You kinda have to be when you're in this business." Ray admitted nonchalantly. He stared at Lucille expectantly. "Now are you gonna listen to us and help us figure out this mess or are we gonna spend the rest of the evening trying to chase you down again?"

Lucille growled under her breath as Ray gently took her uninjured arm and led her back to the couch across the room. When she had unwillingly settled back down in her place in front of the Ghostbusters, she spent several long seconds glaring back and forth between them in silence.

"You wanna tell us what you're doing here?" Ray asked after enduring the ghost's stubborn silence for a few moments. She simply continued to glare defiantly at him as he hesitantly motioned for Egon to power up the thrower for the dark matter generator again. As the other man turned slightly to reach for the device, Lucille straightened up and grimaced.

"I don't have to tell you anything. She's already done it for me, I'll bet." She grumbled.

"I think it'd be wiser if you were to tell us what you want. We're obviously not going to let you get anywhere with your plan until we're sure that Keira is safe." Egon stated. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why would that matter? It's not like you can-" She said sharply but she instantly went silent as Egon reflexively reached for the thrower. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're scared." Ray noted as she tried to keep up her defiant stance. She glared at him.

"So your name is Lucille…" Egon pressed her.

"…and because of your ignorance and hunger for fame, I was left to die in that alley those years ago." She said, her voice cold.

"…What are you talking about?" Ray asked glancing confusedly at Egon. Egon leaned closer towards Lucille, his interest peaking.

"Keira did mention something about you seeing our car drive by as you died…would you care to elaborate on that?" He asked. Her green eyes widened in her growing anger.

"Elaborate? You want me to elaborate? Okay…as I was bleeding out in that alley those years ago, my fiancé pacing over me like he didn't know what to do, I _did_ see the flashing lights on top of your car. Thinking it was an ambulance, I thought I was going to be alright. But then that awful siren on top of it let me know that, though it was help, it was the help that would come after I was already dead. You catch the ghosts of those who have died, the ones who could have been helped if idiots like you had paused long enough to realize it. I don't want your type of help now." She said coldly.

Ray and Egon studied the girl in front of them, watching as she smirked mockingly up at the two dumbfounded Ghostbusters.

"Have I elaborated enough, Dr. Spengler?" She said sourly. Egon's grip on the shock thrower loosened slightly as he processed what she had thrown at them. Ray blinked several times before breaking the silence.

"I'm…sorry about what happened to you, Lucille. I realize that you're upset…confused, even. But that's no reason to take it out on this poor girl that you've possessed. Maybe we can figure out some way to help you cross over or something…you just need to let Keira go." Ray said gently. The ghost's green eyes softened a bit as she regarded his sincerity.

"If I do that, how can I be sure you won't go back on your word? You _are_ Ghostbusters after all and I _am_ a ghost." She said smartly.

"As long as you cooperate with us, we'll try to help you in any reasonable way that we can. We just need to ensure that Keira's safe." Ray said. Egon flashed him a questioning glance and then nodded in agreement as Lucille caught his eye. She narrowed her bright green gaze as she studied the two Ghostbusters.

"She's safe…for now. I'm able to bring her back each time before she actually goes through the full process of my dying in the past." She said.

"That's…very thoughtful of you…" Ray said slowly. Lucille smirked at him.

"I'm feeling a little merciful today. If you'll listen to me for just a few more minutes, you'll have your Keira back."

"Alright?" Egon said warily. He and Ray exchanged hesitant glances before turning back to the ghost.

"I want to see my fiancé again. I think…I think that once I'm able to make peace with him…I can move on." Lucille said slowly. Egon frowned to himself and looked at Ray. The other man was studying the possessed woman with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Okay…so how can we set that up?" Ray asked. Lucille smiled at him wearily as she leaned back into the couch nonchalantly.

"I've already set things into motion. He should come looking for me soon and when he does…" Lucille's eyes widened and she suddenly slumped over the arm of the couch.

"Hey-!" Ray exclaimed as he dove forward. The girl's eyes slowly opened after a moment, revealing their pale blue color. "Keira?"

Keira slowly sat up, careful not to put too much pressure on her left arm. She hesitantly raised a hand to her face and rubbed the spot on the side of her temple where a headache was forming.

"What happened?" She asked, sounding slightly shaken.

"We got her to talk to us. She told us that all she wants is to meet with her fiancé. She's not trying to hurt you." Ray said reassuringly.

"She wants to meet with John? Is…is he even still around here anymore?" Keira asked confusedly.

"She told us she's 'already set things into motion.' I'm not sure what exactly that meant, but we'll keep an eye on her from now on." Egon said, turning back to his desk. Keira's eyes widened in dismay.

"No…no…you're saying that I have to go through with this even longer?! I…I thought you were going to help me!" She exclaimed. Ray moved to sit on the couch next to her.

"Listen…we _are_ trying to help you. We're just trying to see if we can help this ghost with her unfinished business so that hopefully she'll go away on her own. If not, we'll have to do it the hard way." Ray said gently. She shook her head.

"No, you don't understand! She _won't_ go away on her own…" Keira grasped the sleeve of Ray's shirt. "She's been doing little things so far, but what if things get worse?"

Ray gently took a strand of her newly-colored dark hair in his hand as she stared worriedly up at him.

"Hey! Ray, Egon? You guys still up there?"

Ray looked away from Keira's pleading eyes as the voice carried up from the first floor. Egon stood up from his desk and crossed the room to the stairs and called back down to Janine that they were still there.

"Well, there's a Mr. John Bennett here wanting to talk to someone." Janine called. Egon glanced back at Ray who raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Think it's him?" Egon asked. Keira reluctantly shrugged in answer as Egon gestured for Ray to follow him downstairs.

"I think we're getting somewhere." Ray said lightheartedly as he slowly stood up so as not to disturb Keira where she sat huddled against the arm of the couch. She watched in dismay as the two Ghostbusters headed down to meet who she presumed was Lucille's killer.


	16. John Bennett

**Sorry guys! I got a little writer's block on this chapter, but I'm hopefully back on track now! Hope ya'll enjoy! :D**

"Hi, Ray Stantz." Ray introduced himself to the visitor waiting in front of Janine's desk. Egon had already greeted the man and waited politely as the man shook Ray's hand nervously and nodded a greeting. He looked to be a few years older than Ray, with scattered flecks of grey in his dark hair. He was also a bit taller than the Ghostbuster, nearly matching Egon's height next to him.

"John Bennett." He said stoically. He looked around and smirked. "I've never been in here, surprisingly. It doesn't really look like what I'd pictured."

"Well, we like it." Ray said. "What can we help you with?"

"I…well, I can't believe I'm actually saying this…but I think I saw the ghost of my dead fiancé last night."

Ray and Egon both nodded at each other as they confirmed what they had speculated. The man scratched the back of his head as he slowly continued.

"At least I think it was her. This strange girl came up to me at the bar last night and sort of started flirting with me…I thought it was weird at first but then when she _kissed_ me…" John ran a hand through his prematurely greying hair and laughed nervously. "You guys must think I'm crazy."

"We've heard stranger things than that before." Ray said lightheartedly. John let out his breath and smiled in relief.

"Well…can you help me out?" He asked. Ray threw another glance at Egon who discreetly nodded once. Ray turned back to the man and opened his mouth to answer.

"You know…it's actually kind of funny that you came in today. We-" Ray stopped as he noticed both Egon and John staring up at the staircase behind him. He turned to see Keira peeking out from the doorway, her eyes frozen on the visitor. "Keira."

Keira stepped out from the door and stood on the landing hesitant to join the group of men downstairs. She smoothed her dark hair down self-consciously as Ray gestured for her to come down. She slowly descended the stairs, her eyes darting around the room fearfully as she tried to avoid looking at the man who was staring intently at her.

"Mr. Bennett, this is Keira Jackson. She's also been having some problems with the paranormal lately." Ray said as he wrapped a hand around Keira's stiff shoulders. Keira smiled awkwardly at the man as he stared questioningly at her.

"That's…that's the girl from the bar last night!" He said, slightly surprised. Keira felt her heart skip a beat.

"You saw me at the bar?" She asked in disbelief. He nodded and then tilted his head to the side thoughtfully.

"At least, I think it was you. Your hair seemed lighter last night though…" He said slowly. Keira's eyes widened and she looked back to Ray and Egon.

"She must have gone to the bar and then when she returned to my apartment, that must have been when she dyed my hair!" She said excitedly as she pieced together what she had been unable to remember of the previous night.

"…who?" John asked, taking a hesitant step back from the girl.

"Lucille-" Keira started, but Ray quickly intervened.

"What she means is…technically, yes you saw her at the bar but who you saw really wasn't…Keira." He said slowly. John's eyes widened and he looked back at Keira.

"What did you say?" He asked her. She opened her mouth to speak when Egon answered for her.

"We believe that Keira is possessed by a ghost that's been trying to get in touch with you. That is who you saw at the bar last night." He said. John's eyes locked onto him skeptically.

"Lucille." The man said. Egon nodded once and then John's gaze drifted back to Keira who also nodded in confirmation. John took a deep breath and backed away another step.

"She's been possessed for about a week now." Ray said. John looked back and forth from the three other people in the room, even throwing a glance at Janine who was watching the conversation from over the top of her magazine.

"Right…" He said. Keira shook her head as she could see that he wasn't taking them seriously.

"I know it's crazy but-"

"Yeah, it's crazy. You guys really must be some kind of nuts to make something up like this! I loved Lucille…but this…this is just too weird." He said as he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Keira shouted as she impulsively reached out to grab his hand.

"Keira-" Ray said under his breath as he grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

Keira gasped as a shock of pain went up her arm from where her fingers brushed John's hand. She quickly jerked her hand back as the man whirled around to glare at her. She clutched her right hand to her chest with her left, her heart hammering. Without another word, he turned back and headed for the door. Keira jumped as the door slammed shut behind him, echoing throughout the garage.

"Well…that went well." Janine said as she went back to her magazine.

"Keira…it's alright. Some people just don't react well to the thought of life after death. It may take some time for him to adjust to it." Ray said, ignoring Janine's sarcasm.

"You were skeptical too, until you first encountered the spirit in the library." Egon added. Keira still stared at the door, her chest tight.

"I don't understand why Lucille didn't show up for him. Is she trying to drive me crazy or something?" She finally said, her voice hoarse.

"Maybe. Some ghosts get more of an advantage that way." Egon said, giving Ray a knowing look. Ray cleared his throat.

"Don't worry about it, Keira. He'll be back, just wait." Ray said.

Keira was about to disagree with him when suddenly the door flew open.

"We're back! Hi there, Keira! Feeling any better?" Peter called out as he and Winston burst dramatically through the firehouse door.

"Wow, this is some welcome home party. What's going on?" Winston said.

"Who was the weirdo we passed outside?" Peter asked, thumbing over his shoulder. "He looked really pissed off."

"You just missed a visit with Lucille's old fiancé. He didn't really take to the idea that his ex was possessing Keira." Ray said gloomily.

"We've been sort of piecing together Keira's interesting evening she had last night." Egon explained.

"Well, it's about to get even more interesting tonight-look at the clothes we brought back for you from your apartment!" Peter exclaimed as he handed a suitcase full of clothing to the girl. She nearly dropped the suitcase from the weight of what felt like her entire wardrobe.

"I thought you were just going to get one change of clothes! How long am I staying here?" Keira asked, her mood slightly changed as she peeked into the bag. When her eyes landed on the bright combination of clothing, she threw an amused look at Winston, "You let him pick it all out?"

"Yeah…he just went nuts. We figured maybe it would lighten you up a little bit. You were looking a little sickly upstairs earlier." Winston said. Keira lifted a bright lime green colored blouse from the midst of other colors overflowing from the bag and winced.

"Geez…some of this is from years ago. I don't wear half of this stuff anymore!" She laughed as she pulled an inky black lace shirt from the depths of the suitcase.

 _That looked really good on you last night, Keira._

Keira nearly dropped the blouse as Lucille's icy voice came to her suddenly. Her eyes drifted down to the garment confusedly.

"I wore this last night." Keira said. Ray and Egon looked at her in surprise.

"You remember that?" Ray asked. She shook her head quickly.

"No. Lucille just told me." She said.

"She's back?" Egon asked. Keira nodded.

"I would never wear this though. I prefer lighter colors, I just got this as a gift a few years ago and threw it in the back of my closet." Keira said.

"Maybe that's Lucille's personality coming out in you." Egon said thoughtfully. Keira stared at the garment as he continued. "If her traits are dominating yours, then we may not have as long as we thought."

"But…I'm still me, aren't I? At the moment, at least?" Keira asked worriedly as she dropped the shirt back into the open suitcase and wrapped her arms around herself as Lucille sent another cold chill through her.

 _Not for much longer._

"Not for much longer if we don't do something." Ray said, unknowingly echoing Lucille's response in her head.


	17. False Promises

**Happy Friday the 13th, ya'll! Felt like I needed to post because I've been doing a crummy job of it lately. I know it's probably a little longer than some of the more recent stuff I've written, but I hope that won't be a problem! Enjoy! :)**

"…What makes you think it'll work this time?" Keira chanced to ask as she once more lay on the Ghostbusters' couch in the lab in a change of blue jeans and a light blue t shirt. She watched as Ray and Egon darted back and forth setting things up for their postponed experiment. Peter then leaned over the arm of the couch, his nose almost touching Keira's as she stared up at the ceiling, surprised.

"What do you say I take you away from all this? Me and you can run away from these madmen…together." He said softly. Keira rolled her eyes and he smirked as he kissed her forehead.

"Hey-!" She exclaimed as she moved to slap him. He leapt out of the way, laughing as she glared at him amusedly.

"Okay Keira, ready?" Ray asked as he once more placed the spots on her temples.

Keira settled back into position with her head resting against the arm of the couch and closed her eyes. She winced in anticipation, then opened her eyes when nothing happened.

Ray was still kneeling next to the couch, watching her carefully. She blinked up at him confusedly.

"Did it work?" She asked. He smirked and then looked back at Egon who was still busily typing things into his computer. Peter's laughter echoed from somewhere across the room.

"We…haven't started yet." Ray said, ignoring Venkman's over-exaggerated laughs.

"Oh." She said as she felt herself exhale in relief. Ray smiled and then his face turned serious again.

"Okay, this is what we want you to do. Instead of what we were intending to do earlier, we're going to try to lure Lucille out again. To do that, we're gonna need you to-"

"Wait, what?!" Keira started as she moved to sit up. She could hear Egon's computer beep shrilly as her heart rate jumped slightly. Egon looked back at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Relax. That's all we need you to do - just relax. You told us that the first few times she took over, she did it while you were asleep. Maybe if you calm down and you know…surrender to her…" Ray said slowly. Keira shook her head quickly.

"No - you can't ask me to do this…I can't…you don't know what she might do!" She argued fearfully. Ray rested his hands on her shoulders and eased her back against the arm of the couch. She cringed as she realized that Lucille was watching from the back part of her mind, her frigid presence giving her away.

"Keira, please trust me. I've told you before that we can handle anything she can throw at us." Ray said gently. Keira opened her blue eyes and looked up at his reassuring gaze. She felt some of her fear dissipate as she stared into his eyes and she managed a small smile.

 _No they can't._

"No you can't." Keira whispered to Ray as her smile fell. She winced as Lucille's cold laugh caused a shiver to run down her spine. Ray turned back to Egon who signaled that he was finally ready to start the test.

"You'll be fine, Keira. I promise." Ray said as he kept up his reassuring smile.

 _Men and their false promises._

Keira inhaled deeply as she closed her eyes and tried to loosen up the worry that was like a heavy weight in her chest. Lucille's anticipation mixed with Keira's fearful thoughts as she focused on relaxing her body.

As she stared at the darkness of her closed eyes waiting in silence for Lucille to make her move, she could hear Egon typing occasionally at his computer and Ray talking quietly to him and Peter. The longer she lay there, the more worried she felt. She still felt sorry for Lucille and what had happened to her those years ago, but she was also afraid of what it would take to make the ghost leave.

 _Oh, I'm not going anywhere._

Keira's body went completely still and she fought to open her eyes to escape the frigid cold that ran through her veins.

 _Ray-! Peter-! Somebody!_

Keira's mouth didn't move either as she tried to alert the Ghostbusters of the sudden change. Lucille's presence clouded Keira's frantic mental cries and she felt herself fall deeper into blackness.

She was no longer in control.

* * *

"I think she's asleep." Peter said quietly as he stepped closer to the other two Ghostbusters at the equipment table. Ray turned around from the computer he and Egon had been staring at.

"Keira?" He muttered softly. She didn't move, save for the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Ray frowned.

"Everything appears to be normal…" Egon said as he flipped through the computer thoughtfully.

"What's going on?" Winston asked quietly as he entered the room with a clipboard, having been busy down in the basement checking out the containment unit. He noticed Keira seemingly asleep on the couch and instantly looked apologetically at the other three Ghostbusters. They all looked back at the unconscious girl, holding their breath but after a moment they realized there had been no change because of Winston's unintentional outburst.

"We're good." Ray said softly as Winston set the clipboard on the desk next to Egon's arm.

"Everything's fine with the containment unit. It's getting a little drafty down there though, don't know it that means anything or not." Winston muttered. Egon shrugged.

"It has to stay cool down there so the unit doesn't overheat. I'll go check it out when we're finished here." He replied.

"So…what are we doing here?" Winston asked, interested.

"We're trying to get Lucille to resurface again so that we can confront her properly. Egon and I thought letting her deal with her problems on her own would have been a little safer for Keira, but since she didn't show up when her old fiancé came in, we're going to try something else." Ray explained as he once more looked down at Keira.

"What 'something else' is that? Should we get a pack ready?" Winston asked, eyeing the proton packs where they lay on a table in the corner of the room. Egon shook his head.

"Lucille seemed to understand what she was up against before and that we had her contained pretty well. We were able to get a little bit of information out of her before Keira once more took control." Egon said.

"That doesn't answer my question. What are you doing to her?" Winston asked, worried about Keira who looked slightly paler than usual.

"We're monitoring her brain activity to see if we can sense when Lucille switches with Keira. So far, there hasn't been anything out of the ordinary." Ray said. Peter scoffed.

"Yeah, nothing out of the ordinary, save for four creepy guys watching her sleep." Peter said as he leaned against Egon's work table. Winston laughed quietly in agreement and crossed his arms to watch the experiment.

"Why do you care about this girl anyway, Ray?" Peter asked after a few minutes. Ray looked absently away from the computer, resting his gaze on Keira.

"I…I feel bad that we kind of ruined her life. It's because of us that she was possessed in the first place. And then she lost her fiancé this morning, and she'll probably lose her job too if this goes on any longer." Ray said slowly. Peter glanced at the ground silently, Ray's words bringing up painful memories of his own.

"You didn't really start liking her 'til _after_ she got possessed, though. How do you know if it's really Keira you've got a crush on and not the ghost?" Peter said jokingly. Ray flashed him an irritated glance but then smiled halfheartedly.

The screen suddenly changed. Instead of the slow, rhythmic monitor that was representing Keira's brain waves, the line went flat. Egon glanced at another screen where her heart rate was shown to have also dropped.

"Ray-" Egon said warningly, but Ray was way ahead of him. He rushed to Keira's side and took her hand in his as he raised his other to her face and gently slapped it.

"Keira, we need you to wake up now." He said. There was no reaction from the unconscious girl. Ray wildly looked back at Egon who had risen from his desk chair and was prepping the dark matter generator from where he had pushed it aside, prepping for Lucille's reappearance. Winston ran across the room for a proton pack, hastily looping the straps onto his shoulders and drawing the thrower.

"Uh…is this what we were waiting for?" Peter asked quickly, his casual stance now rigid with growing alarm.

"Keira!" Ray almost yelled as he shook the girl, trying to wake her. The computer behind him beeped shrilly and his heart leapt into his throat as he stared at her unmoving face.

"We have a problem!" Peter exclaimed as he took Egon's place at the computer, scanning through the screen in front of him. Everything was silent except for the long, high pitched beep signaling that Keira's heart had stopped.

"What's wrong with her?!" Winston asked as he slowly moved closer towards the couch, his thrower still prepped.

"Did we just…kill her?" Peter asked, slowly turning back to the other three Ghostbusters who were crowded around the girl on the couch. Silence hung over the four men as they stared at her in disbelief.

Finally Ray leapt into action, preparing to resuscitate the girl. He leaned forward, turning his ear towards her mouth to hear if she was breathing. As he did so, he felt a strong hand lock onto his throat, shoving his head back a few inches with the force of the blow.

"Ray!" Egon exclaimed as he switched the dark matter generator on with a resonating hum.

Ray couldn't speak as he grabbed for the hand that was gripping his neck even tighter. He glanced down and his eyes widened in shock.

"Hey- _Keira!_ " Winston shouted, trying to get the girl's attention.

Eerily enough, the girl still lay flat on the couch as she had been for the past twenty minutes, her eyes closed and a serene expression on her pale face. Her right hand was latched firmly around Ray's throat, the slight muscles in the girl's arm flexing with the strain that was put on them.

"That's not Keira…" Egon muttered. As he said it, the girl's lips slowly formed into an amused smirk and she tightened her fingers around Ray's throat with one last bout of strength before throwing him into Egon's desk.

"Hey!" Peter protested in surprise as he steadied the intricate technology that Egon had built around the computer.

"Hit her!" Winston shouted as he charged up his thrower.

"I don't think that would be a good idea-"

"Wise decision, Dr. Spengler." Lucille sat up slowly, her eyes opening to reveal an almost luminous green color. She smiled at the three defensive Ghostbusters and then glanced down to where Ray lay dazed against the desk.

"What did you do to Keira? What did you just do?" Peter demanded as the computer behind him rang out signaling that the possessed girl once more had a faint pulse.

"That was just a hint of what will happen to her if you don't let me have my way." Lucille said, her voice even, yet menacing. She ripped off the wires that connected her to Egon's equipment and the machine shrieked as she threw them to the floor. Her eyes darted up towards where Egon still hovered near the dark matter generator. "I will kill her. Don't even think of testing me."

"Don't listen to her Egon, juice that thing up!" Winston said gesturing towards the generator. Egon shifted uncomfortably, suddenly not sure of what to do. Lucille narrowed her eyes as he lifted the thrower towards her.

"Egon…don't-"

Ray's strained voice was silenced as Egon squeezed the trigger and fired at the ghost. Time slowed and Lucille fell to the ground with a pained cry before the force of the generator's power could touch her.

"Stop!" Peter yelled back at the others as the girl on the ground shakily tried to crawl back to her feet. She raised her face to Ray who still lay against Egon's desk and Ray could see that her eyes had returned to their normal blue color.

"Keira?" Ray asked, moving towards her. She opened her mouth to speak as tears streamed down her face but instantly closed it again as Lucille's smile once more resurfaced.

"If you hurt me, you hurt her." Lucille said quietly.

She stood up in one motion and then walked towards the doorway leading down to the stairs. She turned back with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"And to make sure you don't follow me…"

Lucille raised her right hand towards the couch next to where Egon and Peter stood watching her in surprised silence. Before they could react the couch was thrown at them, shoving them both against the wall next to Egon's desk. They landed on the floor, unconscious and she directed her attention to the other armed Ghostbuster. She glanced up at Winston who was charging his proton thrower and she mentally threw one of Egon's lab tables at him. A proton stream shot out of his thrower towards the girl as he fell back against the table holding the other packs and she cried out as it fired into her left shoulder. She glared back at the Ghostbusters, three of which were knocked out cold from her handiwork, and her green eyes landed on Ray where he was staring in horror at two of his downed friends in front of him. She cringed as the pain in her shoulder pulsed with Keira's weak heartbeat and then her dark hair whipped around as she fled down the stairs of the firehouse.


	18. John's Visitor

**Hey everyone! I just wanted to update and say that MY PROTON PACK FINALLY CAME IN. I ordered it like a month ago and I was so worried that it wouldn't get here by Halloween, but you guys have no idea how excited I am! I love it! So I had to quickly finish this chapter so I could share my excitement with the world. ;)**

 **I hope it's not getting too confusing for you guys, I promise I'm wrapping it all up as a sort of murder mystery type of thing for the end. Any questions, comments or suggestions, just leave a review or message me! Thanks and I hope you enjoy reading! :D**

John Bennett reached his apartment and slammed the door shut behind him. He threw his keys onto the table beside the door and ran a hand nervously through his hair. As he collapsed into his armchair, he noticed that the light on his answering machine was blinking steadily, signaling that he had a message waiting. He pressed the button and put his head in his hands as he listened.

"John…it's Angela. I just wanted to make sure you were alright…last night at the bar, you started acting funny. I thought things were getting better...that's why I didn't say anything. But I'm worried about you. Please give me a call when you get this."

John looked up as the message ended and sighed heavily as he reached for the receiver. After dialing the number that had long since been imprinted in his mind, he stared blankly out the window at the evening sunset awaiting the phone to be answered on the other end.

"…John?"

"Angela, yeah it's me." John said as he leaned forward in his armchair. He heard her sigh in relief.

"What happened to you last night?" She asked. John hesitated before answering with the truth.

"Angela…you're going to think I'm crazy. But…do you remember Lucille?" He heard a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line and then a brief few seconds of silence. He cringed, anticipating her to hang up on him.

"Yes." She finally answered with a questioning tone in her voice. John ran a hand through his hair once more, a nervous habit he had.

"I saw her last night." He blurted out.

"John…"

"Honestly, Angela. It was her…she came up to me while you were gone last night at the bar. It was this strange younger woman though, but somehow…I believed it was Lucille." He said, his voice trembling as he tried to explain himself.

"And that's why you were acting weird after I came back. You thought you saw your dead fiancé's ghost." He could almost picture her shaking her head in irritation.

"Yes." He paused and bit his lip, expecting her to go off on a furious rant towards him. When she didn't say anything, he slowly continued. "I went to see the Ghostbusters about it this afternoon."

"…Why?" Her voice was suddenly cautious.

"I wanted to see if there was any truth to it really happening. And while I was there…the same woman came downstairs. The one from the bar. She was the spitting image of Lucille…" John's voice cut off suddenly as he heard a quiet knock at his apartment door.

"John…why are you doing this to yourself again?" Angela asked, her voice almost pitying. John glanced back at his door absently.

"Doing what?"

"You know…you're torturing yourself about her death again. It's been almost eight years now, John. You…you need to let go." Her voice was gentle over the phone and his throat grew tight with emotion. He was startled as another knock sounded at his door, this one slightly louder.

"Angela…I need to go. I promise I'll call you again soon." John said, standing up from his armchair and moving to hang up the phone.

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid? You know how I worry about you."

"Yes, I promise." He relented. He said a quick goodbye and then hung up. He ran another hand through his hair before going to the door, holding his breath. Another knock pounded and he quickened his pace.

"John."

As he opened the door, he wasn't surprised to find that the girl from the bar and the Ghostbusters' firehouse was standing out in the hall. Her face was pale, her dark hair in messy curls down her back. She was still in the t-shirt and jeans she had been wearing at the Ghostbuster's headquarters, only the light blue of her left sleeve was burnt and she was clutching at her shoulder tightly.

"…Keira, was it?" He asked hopefully. A weary smile spread across her face as she shook her head up at him.

"No John, it's me…Lucille."

John looked down at her hesitantly. She leaned towards him but he hastily stepped back before she could touch him. Her bright green eyes blinked up at him with hurt.

"John please…" Her voice was a hoarse whisper as her eyes brimmed with tears. He stared at her trying to hold himself together in thoughtful silence. When he finally spoke again, his voice was flat.

"You didn't act like you knew me when we were with the Ghostbusters earlier."

"I didn't want them to know." Lucille said softly. She nodded towards her injured shoulder which she still held so tightly that her knuckles were white. "You see what they did to me when you left."

John glanced down at her shoulder and slowly peeled her fingers away from the wound. She winced but allowed him to look over the singed shoulder and the shirt burnt around it.

"Why didn't you go to a hospital?" He asked quickly. Lucille laughed drily.

"I don't think that would've been an option. I've already been there once today because of Keira. I think showing up a second time after already being turned over to the Ghostbusters would just cause that much more of a fuss."

John regarded the girl in front of him worriedly before glancing down the hall around her before finally relenting to let her into his apartment.

"Alright, come inside. I'll see what I have to fix you up." John said as she walked past him into the room. He shut the door quietly and then hunted in his cabinets for his first aid kit. "But you at least owe me an explanation if you really are who you say you are."

"Fair enough." She smiled as she watched him from the living room. When he had gathered a few of his old bottles of rubbing alcohol and bandages, he turned around and noticed her looking around the apartment knowingly.

"How did you know where to find me, for starters?" He asked skeptically. She turned back to him and smirked.

"Thankfully, even after all these years…you haven't moved. Room 249, just like before."

John froze as he set the first aid kit and supplies on the table next to his armchair. As he straightened up he could see the familiar light in her eyes that he had remembered ever since that fateful night eight years ago when he'd lost her.

"Oh Lucille…" He said as he drew her into a hug, careful not to put too much pressure on her injured shoulder. She leaned into him briefly and then pulled away to look at him.

"I've missed you, John." Her smile fell slightly as she studied him, and she cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. "Though, you do look much older…has it really been that long?"

"The years have been hard on me since I lost you, Lucille. You have no idea…" He motioned for her to sit in his armchair as he opened up the first aid kit. She did as he bid her to, an unreadable expression on her face.

"I'm sure I have some idea." She said.

John was silent as he knelt next to her and rolled up the remains of her shirt sleeve so that he could get a better look at her shoulder. She winced as he peeled the shirt from the raw, burnt skin on her shoulder. John shook his head in disbelief as he worked.

"How is this possible, Lucille? What have you done to this poor girl?" He murmured.

"I'm…still figuring it out. But soon…she'll be gone and I'll be…well, me again. I may not look the same, but then again, neither do you." She said. John met her gaze hesitantly.

"This girl…Keira…you mean you'll get rid of her spirit so you can inhabit her body?" He asked, hardly believing that he was taking her seriously. She nodded.

"She's weakened to the breaking point now. I promise…we'll get to be together again…"

Lucille cried out as he dabbed some of the rubbing alcohol onto her arm. She blinked away the pain and then glanced up at him once more. He was silent as he finished cleaning her wound.

"What's wrong?" She asked as he slowly began to bind her shoulder. He wouldn't meet her gaze when he finally answered.

"I don't like this." John tied off the end of the bandage and started to pack up the first aid kit as Lucille stared at him levelly.

"You don't like what?"

"It's taken me years to get over you, Lucille. And just when I finally think I can move on, you show up again. It's just overwhelming me, I suppose." He said. Lucille followed him with her eyes as he stood and began putting away his supplies.

"I thought you would've been overwhelmed with joy after realizing I was alive again. Why does it torment you so much?" She asked. She hesitated when he didn't answer. "Is there someone else?"

John turned back to her abruptly from where he had replaced the first aid kit in the kitchen cabinet. He let out a huge breath and smiled sadly.

"No…no, there's no one else." He said quickly. Lucille blinked up at him, worriedly.

"Then what is it?"

"It's nothing, Lucille. It's just…hard to wrap my mind around all this." He crossed the room back to her and took her hand. She stood and stared up at him hesitantly and he kissed her cheek. "It really _is_ you."

Lucille's face broke into a relieved smile and she leaned into him once more.

"Of course it is."

"There's so much I want to say to you…" He said sadly. He felt her laugh quietly against him.

"Take a walk with me?" She suggested quietly after a few moments. Surprised, he looked down at her.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked. She smiled.

"Where this all started."


	19. Regrouping

**I know I say this a lot, but I apologize again for my lack of updating this past week. I went out of town with my sister this weekend and with upcoming Halloween plans...I'm stretched a little thin. But I'll get through this, so don't worry! I'll try to update again soon!**

 **So, me and my sister went up to Gatlinburg TN which is a tourist place with lots of shopping and people. My sister had the idea to dress up and walk the streets in our Halloween costumes...so I finally agreed. Let's just say a lot of people know the Ghostbusters, and only a few knew who my sister was as Loki the god of mischief. It was a pretty amazing trip!**

"Pete? Egon?" Ray called out worriedly as he spotted their limp forms lying at odd angles against the wall. He looked across the room to where Winston also lay against a fallen table. Ray braced against the desk as he struggled to pull himself to his feet with a cry of pain.

"Come on guys…we don't have time for this…" He said, as he clutched his side which had taken a majority of the hit when he'd been thrown against the desk. He shoved the couch aside and fell to his knees next to Peter, noticing that a splatter of red had stained the ground next to his colleague. Ray moved to the side and examined his colleague's head which was bleeding through his dark hair.

"R-Ray?" He heard Egon mumble from a few feet away. Ray glanced up hurriedly to see that Egon was slowly crawling towards them, his glasses cracked from the impact of his fall.

"Spengler, are you okay?" Ray asked worriedly. Egon reached Peter and looked him over just as Ray was doing.

"I'll be alright in a few minutes. Let's get the others checked over first."

Egon reached up for a grip on the edge of his damaged desk and pulled himself to his feet as he looked for something to stop the bleeding in Peter's temple. He reached for a towel that he used when he worked on his equipment and slowly knelt back next to Ray, cautious as spots ran across his blurred vision.

"Ugh…anybody got any Tylenol?" Winston called out from across the room. Ray smiled in relief.

"Just a second, Winston. We're trying to fix up Venkman." He called over his shoulder. He turned back to see Egon seriously at work on Peter, despite the shine of pain in his eyes. Ray watched Peter's pale, still face worriedly. "Do we need to go to the hospital?"

Egon frowned as the cream colored towel he was using to gently dab at Peter's wound quickly turned red with his blood. After a few seconds, he noticed that the bleeding had lessened and he relaxed a little.

"It would be a good idea, since he's still unconscious." Egon said, squinting through his broken glasses as he lifted Peter's eyelids to glance at his pupils.

"I wondered why it was so quiet in here." Winston joked half-heartedly as he stumbled across the room to the others.

"You okay?" Ray asked him as he handed Egon another few stray clean towels he had found while rummaging in one of the desk drawers. Winston scoffed.

"Aside from having a table broken on top of me and landing on Egon's durable, but definitely solid proton pack…I'm just fine." Winston said, as he set the proton pack on the floor. Using one hand to brace against his sore back, he gestured towards the splintered table against the far wall of the room. Egon squeezed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes to the dizzying blurriness around him.

"Could someone please get my spare pair of glasses?" He asked weakly. Ray climbed shakily to his feet once more and headed for the bunk room where he knew Egon stashed at least one extra pair of glasses in his nightstand. Upon returning, he was relieved to see that Venkman was moaning as he slowly stirred awake.

"Ray….can I ask you one thing?" Peter slurred groggily. He waved Egon away and grabbed for the towel Winston held out to him, full of ice from the fridge. He winced as he placed it against his badly bruised head and glanced up at Ray.

"Sure." Ray said, handing Egon his glasses. Egon blinked several times after putting them on and relaxed slightly as having the blurriness removed lessened the dizziness he had been feeling.

"When this is all over…is this girl still gonna stick around? Because I might file for a restraining order against her." Peter said, wincing as his smile made his head ache. Ray smirked halfheartedly.

"So what's the plan? Are we going after her or what?" Winston asked. Ray looked back at him and sighed.

"It took me a while to get grounded again and you all were out of it for a good fifteen to twenty minutes…I'm not sure where she went, but she obviously didn't want to be followed." Ray said. "And with a head start like that…"

"Lucille most likely wouldn't have gone back to Keira's apartment. She knows that's one of the first places we'll look." Egon said as he tried once more to dress Peter's wound against his protests.

"Yeah…we can probably rule out the library too." Ray mumbled in thought.

"Did you ever figure out what exactly the ghost wants? She didn't show up for her old boyfriend…what else did she tell you?" Winston offered. Ray shook his head.

"I think we should try to go after John anyway. Even if she's not with him, he would be the one who knows Lucille better than anyone else." Ray suggested. The other three Ghostbusters thought it over silently for a few seconds.

"It's a start." Egon finally said. Ray nodded and looked to the other two for their input. Winston shrugged as he picked up the proton pack from where he had dropped it on the floor.

"I guess I'm ready to go." He said. Ray, Winston and Egon all turned to Peter who lowered the icy towel from his head slowly with a weary sigh.

"Just give me some pain meds and I'll be good as new." He said as he took Ray's hand to help him stand up. Ray looked at his fellow Ghostbuster worriedly and then glanced back at Egon who was packing up the supplies he had gathered to help Peter.

"What do you think, Spengler?" Ray asked. Egon stood and placed the stack of used towels and gauze on the desk. He turned back to his battered and bruised companions and picked up the dark matter generator from where it had thankfully stayed on the table next to the computer.

"We need to be ready for a fight. Lucille is definitely a hostile spirit now." Egon said seriously.

"You're telling me…" Peter scoffed as he once more placed the ice against the side of his head.

"What do we need?" Ray asked, looking around at the disheveled room.

"My guess is a little bit of everything." Winston said. Egon nodded.

"I'll make a few modifications to the dark matter generator on the way over. We need to be sure that it will work quickly enough to prevent the ghost from retreating into Keira's unconsciousness to avoid the hit. I'll get the supplies to do that while the rest of you can load up Ecto-1." Egon said, turning back to his desk to begin gathering the tools he needed.

"I'll get the packs down to the car." Winston said, slipping his own pack over his shoulder and grabbing another from the table.

"I can get the pain killers." Peter said as he shuffled over to the small kitchen area and began rummaging in the cabinets.

"Hey Egon…" Ray trailed off as he watched his colleagues move in action.

"Yeah?" Egon said, throwing a few screwdrivers into a small tool bag.

"Do you think we can pull this off?" Ray asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm worried. What if she's been possessed too long? I was only possessed for a few minutes by Vigo those years ago and I suffered for it for weeks afterward. There's no telling what effects this will have on her…" Ray said.

"We can only hope that Lucille will still need Keira to survive. If she's already gained enough strength from Keira's consciousness…she may have no more need for her and she'll be able to fully inhabit the girl's body." Egon said as he sorted through a drawer searching for more tools.

"And then she'll just dispose of Keira's spirit altogether…" Ray murmured worriedly.

"Aren't you supposed to be the optimistic one here, Ray?" Peter asked after he'd downed a few pain pills. "We'll get this all sorted out and Keira will be good as new, ready to go back into work on Monday."

"I highly doubt that one weekend will be long enough to recover from over a week's worth of spirit possession, but it's a nice expectation." Egon said. "Here Ray, help me take this all down to the car."

Ray took the dark matter generator from Egon's grasp, wincing as the weight of the mechanism caused his sore ribs pain. Wordlessly, he turned and followed Egon and Peter down to the Ecto-1 where Winston had loaded up two of the proton packs.

"I really think we should all be going to the hospital or something…" Winston said as he turned back to the stairs to go after the other two packs.

"We'll go later, and we'll be taking Keira with us." Ray said firmly. He jumped slightly when he felt a hand clap on his shoulder.

"There's the Ray I know." Peter said. Ray blinked and slowly nodded.

As they finished gathering everything they could think of to use against Lucille, Ray slid into the back seat of the vehicle and took a deep breath to center himself. He silently hoped against hope that they would be able to track Lucille down and release Keira from the ghost's hold on her before it was too late.


	20. The Truth

**Oh my goodness, ya'll! Tonight my church had their Trunk or Treat, (and if you don't know what that is, just ask) and I dressed as a girl version of Ray Stantz to give out candy at my car. I had goggles and the pack and everything. :D I made my car up as the Ghostbusters car with a little Ecto Containment Unit in the back of it...I put A LOT of work into it. The best part of the night was when this little kid ran straight past all of the other cars and attack hugged my legs squealing. His parents were SO shocked and they said "Wow! He doesn't even know you, but he sure knows Ghostbusters!" Goodness, I almost cried! Okay, excitement over. Enjoy the chapter! :D**

Keira opened her eyes to see a swirling mass of dark colors swimming in front of her. She cringed as she felt an intense pain burning through her entire left arm, not just from the cut on her forearm. She cried out in pain as she instinctively reached for her shoulder, but found that her voice made no legible sound. She looked down and noticed that she couldn't see her body either, just a blank space surrounded by the dizzying mist around her. Though she couldn't tangibly see herself, she felt her heart start pounding in her chest as her fear peaked.

 _What is happening to me?_

Her voice was more of a tiny thought in the back of her mind amid the chaotic spinning around her. If she had been able to, Keira imagined she would have collapsed onto the ground in a heap, clutching her knees to her chest in terror.

"Lucille…"

A man's voice broke through the stifling silence she was trapped in. Keira looked up and she grew hopeful when the dark colors swept aside briefly to reveal the streets of New York. The bright florescent lights on the streets seemed dim in her foggy mind as she watched the streets go by through Lucille's eyes.

"It's so hard to believe you're back." The man's voice said again. As Lucille turned, Keira could see that the voice belonged to John Bennett, the ghost's former fiancé.

"I know…I'm still wondering about it myself." Lucille said, leaning her head onto his shoulder as they walked.

 _Well, stop wondering about it and let me go! You can't do this to me, Lucille!_

Keira's nearly incoherent voice barely reached past the dark swirling barrier around her. She cried out in frustration as Lucille ignored her and continued her walk with John.

"Did you really miss me, John?" Lucille asked, looping her arm in his as they walked.

"More than anything." He said simply. Lucille pursed her lips and stared down the sidewalk where several people passed the couple without so much as a glance.

"Why do I feel like there's something more that you're not telling me?" Lucille said. She glanced to the side and smiled slightly as she pulled him further down the sidewalk.

"What do you mean?" John asked hesitantly.

"What do you think I mean?" Lucille asked, testing him. John was silent for a few seconds before he gently patted her heavily bandaged arm.

"I still think about the night I lost you…I had nightmares for over a year as I relived it over and over. I felt terrible about what happened to you." John stared unseeingly at the road in front of him, lost in his memory.

"We were heading home after your friend Mary's party…and it was cold - almost snowing, actually. And I decided to make a stop on the way. I had no idea where we were because it was in a part of town I wasn't familiar with. You tried to tell me, but I was my stubborn self and I…I just wanted to make you happy."

Lucille pulled John to the side and turned to him.

"You tried to make me _happy_?" She asked him confusedly. He glanced down at her and they continued walking away from the crowded street and brightly glowing streetlights.

John's shoulders slumped and he sighed as he seemed to hold her arm slightly tighter.

"I wanted to surprise you, Lucille. That night…I was finally going to get your engagement ring." John said softly. Lucille stopped hurriedly and flicked her bright green gaze up to his emotional face.

"…What?" She breathed, pressing her injured left hand to her chest. John smiled sadly and nodded.

"I had called this guy about getting a ring and I was actually taking you to his shop on the way back from the party. I got us lost, and we ended up in the wrong…" He looked up around him and felt his heart sink. "…alley."

"We were getting a ring." Lucille said thoughtfully, her face drained of emotion. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and after a moment she looked back up at him.

"You kept saying we needed to 'officialize' our engagement." John said, smiling. Lucille leapt forward and hugged him tightly. Surprised, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her as well.

"And then those men came…" She whispered, her voice quivering as she remembered the fear and adrenaline running through her veins at the sight of the two shadowy men in the alley. As she clung even tighter to John, she looked around them at the familiar shadows, knowing that on this night, they were alone.

"I tried to fight them off, and I thought you had run to safety. But the next thing I knew, I thought I was being jumped from behind and I swung around to fight them off…and you were there." John shook his head, biting back his tears. "Lucille…I'm…I'm so sorry…."

 _It was an accident…_

Keira voiced her thoughts as she listened intently to what John had just revealed to Lucille, her heart breaking alongside the ghost's. Her small voice echoed in the dark void she was surrounded by. Keira suddenly felt a sharp ringing in her ears and she felt herself break down as something like an intense headache hit her. The dark swirling colors around her vision clouded over what she had been able to see through Lucille's eyes and Keira was once more alone.

* * *

"Okay…so John's not at his apartment. And after all of the work it took to find this guy's address." Peter said as he slammed a phone book shut and climbed back into the Ecto-1.

"We'll just try somewhere else…" Egon said as he pulled the Ecto-1 back onto the street.

"Where else? We don't know the guy, so how can we know what kind of places he would go?" Winston asked.

"Keira said that Lucille went to a bar last night." Ray offered quietly. Peter glanced back at him from the front seat.

"Right. And exactly how many bars are there here in New York City, Ray?" Peter asked sarcastically. Ray glared at him.

"Venkman's right. I'm not sure that going barhopping all night long would be a very good idea." Egon said. Ray slumped back in his seat and covered his face with his hand in frustration.

"An alley…" Ray blurted out after a few minutes. He glanced out the window at the slowly passing streets, occasionally seeing a dimly lit alley breaking between buildings.

"What?" Winston asked, leaning over to peer out Ray's car window. Ray turned back to him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Lucille said something about it. She was murdered in one…" He glanced back out the window scanning the streets.

"Uh…again Ray, how many alleys are there in town?" Peter asked, the sarcasm replaced with his pitying tone.

"More alleys than bars." Winston mumbled.

"Ray…your mind is going everywhere and it's not making any sense to me. Tell me what you're getting at." Peter said, as he turned back to face him.

"Maybe Lucille's ghost was trapped down in the library for some reason. When Keira went down there, she must have awakened Lucille." Ray tried to explain.

"We've been through this already…" Winston said. Ray held up his hand.

"Just stay with me. So…if Lucille was murdered, then it was most likely in the paper. And what did Keira go down to retrieve from the basement?" Ray asked, trying to get the other Ghostbusters on the same page he was.

"…Newspapers. For our meeting with the mayor the other night." Egon piped up.

"Right. If we can narrow it down out of the few papers she brought us, I'm sure we can find Lucille's story in one of them." Ray said, a faint smile on his face.

"Okay…and how does that help us?" Peter asked.

"Lucille said she wanted to see her fiancé again. It's a really slim chance, but I have a feeling they might have gone back to relive some old memories." Ray explained.


	21. Remorse

**Hey everyone! I had every intention of posting the new chapter Halloween night, but obviously that didn't happen. I must say that I unfortunately didn't have any fun plans of Halloween - my favorite holiday - but that was alright because that gave me plenty of time to write. So I hope you guys like this chapter, and don't be afraid to leave me a review of what you think! :D**

"…What are we doing here, Lucille?"

John's voice was soft as he glanced at the haunting alley around them. Lucille still had her arms wrapped around his torso tightly, her eyes closed as she cried a few silent tears. John hesitantly touched her dark hair and brushed it over her shoulders.

"You know…no matter what Angela has said about you since you've been gone…I never stopped loving you." He murmured. Lucille's green eyes flew open and she pulled away from him slowly.

"Angela…" She repeated the name, thinking of the woman she had seen John with both at the restaurant and the bar. John blinked at Lucille's sudden mood change and then nodded slowly.

"She's been keeping me company ever since the accident. Like she was afraid I would do something reckless, I suppose." He said, laughing uncomfortably. Lucille's gaze intensified, almost unseen by John in the dimly lit alleyway.

"Would you have done something reckless?" She asked evenly. John ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"Probably. It was awful without you, sweetheart. You don't know what I went through…"

"What _you_ went through?" Lucille's cold voice interrupted. John stopped and stared at her confusedly. "You weren't the one who died!"

"I…I know…but-"

"And now…to hear that I've been replaced…how do you think that feels, John?" Lucille's voice echoed down the alley, sounding more and more menacing the farther the sound reached.

"Replaced? Lucille, you don't understand…" John said as he tried to explain.

"No, I understand. After all we went through together…both of our families shunning us because none of them wanted us to be together…having to spend several nights alone in the bars up into the early morning hours because we couldn't go home…I didn't mind all of that so much because I had _you._ I'm guessing it didn't take long for Angela to swoop in and steal your heart from me." Lucille said, as she lunged forward. John spun away from the angered girl, his hands raised.

"Lucille…listen to me!" He shouted. She glared up at him, her eyes almost glowing green. "Angela is my sister!"

Lucille stopped.

"Your sister?" She finally repeated. John nodded.

"You didn't know her because, like you said, my family was against our being together. But she was the only one who seemed to care about how I felt after losing you. She checks in on me a few times a week to make sure I'm doing alright." He shrugged.

Lucille studied him sadly for a moment before stepping closer to him, her right hand clenched into a fist. She glanced down at her hands as she stepped into his outstretched arms.

"I…I'm sorry." She murmured. "You must think I'm crazy."

"No…I know it's hard, Lucille…but things are different now…for both of us. That's just how time works." John said reassuringly. He smiled wearily down at her as she slowly raised her gaze to his.

"Things _are_ different now, John. But I know how to fix that."

She flicked something in her palm and quickly swiped towards John who cried out as he felt a flash of pain across the top of his shoulder. He backed away from her next attack, clamping his palm against his injured arm. He pulled his hand away to see the faint glisten of blood on his fingers. His eyes widened as he stared at Lucille in confusion.

"How did you…"

"You know...it's funny, really. You still carry a simple pocket knife on you after all these years. Why didn't you ever think to trade up for something more useful?" Lucille glanced down at the weapon in her hand and then looked up at him. Her teeth were bared in a sarcastic smile as she approached him slowly.

"Please…" John breathed. He slowly stepped back as she continued her unceasing advance.

"Sorry John…but it's only fair." She said as she flicked the pocket knife out of its sheath once more. She raised it up and brought it down into thin air. She angrily spun around as John ducked beneath her arm. She lunged forward with the blade aimed at his chest.

"Lucille, this isn't you!" John shouted. Before she could bring the knife down on him, he swiftly kicked her in the ribs and she slammed into the wall of the alley. The breath was knocked from her lungs, and as she fell to the ground, the pocketknife clattered to the sidewalk beside her.

"What happened?!"

John whirled around after staring at Lucille's unmoving form on the ground to see four other figures running towards him. He backed away instinctively, still grasping his shoulder with blood-soaked fingers.

"John Bennett? Please tell us that's you…" Another voice said. John squinted and recognized the four Ghostbusters approaching from the street.

"Yes…yes it's me." John said slowly.

"Are you alright?" Winston asked him, noticing how tightly the man held his injured arm.

"I'm…I'm fine." John replied as Winston switched a flashlight on to examine the man's shoulder.

"Where's Lucille?" Ray asked as he turned another flashlight on.

"She's over there…she tried to attack me and I-" John tried to explain as Winston confirmed that the knife cut on his shoulder wasn't severe.

Ray rushed over to the still figure against the wall, checking for her pulse.

"I should have believed you guys…I'm sorry…I thought she wanted-" John tried to explain again, but he was interrupted by Egon who was watching Lucille carefully.

"It's alright, we're going to take care of it. And hopefully Keira can help us." Egon said. He held the modified dark matter generator in his arms which was also hooked up to the proton pack on his back. Ray glanced worriedly over his shoulder at the weapon in his colleague's hands. As he looked back down at the girl in front of him, she moaned in pain and started to stir awake.

"Keira?" He said hopefully as her eyes fluttered slightly.

"Uh, Ray…" Peter said warningly as the PKE meter he had switched on hummed to life in his grip.

 _"_ _Get the knife away from her!"_ John suddenly shouted as he noticed her hand slowly crawl to the side, feeling for the fallen weapon. Ray glanced down hurriedly as Lucille's fingers found the knife and he was able to leap out of the way before her swing could strike him.

Ray scrambled back as the girl climbed to her feet, the knife tight in her grip. Lucille shrieked furiously as she whirled around to see John staring at her in terrified surprise.

"Hey-!" Ray's voice said nearby.

Lucille stiffened as she felt strong arms grab onto her shoulders. She cried out as his hand clamped down on the spot where the proton stream had grazed her arm and she struggled to break out of his grip, the knife shaking in her hand.

"Let go of me-" She growled through her clenched teeth. She jerked her right elbow back towards where she pictured his face to be but he caught it quickly and used her momentum to spin her around to face him.

"Ray-" Peter exclaimed as he rushed forward to help his friend from where he was struggling against the strength of the possessed woman.

"I've got it, Venkman – just get Egon ready!" Ray said as he pinned Lucille against the wall behind her. She fought against his hold, managing to nick the knuckles of his left hand with the blade.

"I'm not sure hitting her with this much power while she's…" Egon paused as Ray dove out of the way of Lucille's flailing arm. "…while she's this irritated…will be a good idea. We might end up doing even more harm to Keira since their spirits are too deeply connected now."

"Well Egon…what do you want me to do? Sing her a lullaby? Will that calm her down?!" Ray shouted over his shoulder as he once more slammed Lucille's arms against the wall. She cried out as he finally wrestled the pocket knife out of her grip.

"You – you can't do this!" She screamed as she uselessly tried to shove against the Ghostbuster's hold.

"I'm sorry Lucille…but we tried to settle this your way." Ray said, his voice strained but gentle.

"You don't know what you're doing! It's clearly obvious that you don't!" She growled as she finally stopped fighting against Ray's hold on her arms. She glanced hurriedly at Egon who was struggling under the weight of the dark matter generator in his grasp. She flicked her gaze back at Ray, a smug expression on her face.

"You think you can still save her, but you're too late, Dr. Stantz…" Lucille said, her voice hiding a tinge of remorse. "She's all but gone, now."

Ray shook his head as he felt the other three Ghostbusters closing in on the couple.

"She's bluffing." Peter said, standing close behind Ray. Ray blinked hurriedly before clearing his throat and forcing Lucille to look at him.

"Keira…" Ray said, staring at Lucille's bright green eyes. "Keira, I know you're still in there."

Lucille's gaze darted away from his as she scanned the other Ghostbusters' expressions. She shifted slightly against the wall, but Ray kept her arms by her sides. She smiled wearily up at him as she shook her head.

"I told you…it's too late." She whispered, her eyes sad. She bit her lip and closed her eyes against her tears. Ray glanced back at Egon who nodded.

Egon handed the dark matter generator to Winston and told him to switch the proton pack on. The pack hummed to life, casting a bright glow in the dark alley. Egon then switched on the generator in Winston's arms and primed the thrower, looking up to Peter who was once more studying the PKE meter in his hand. Peter's face turned puzzled and as he raised the meter up for Egon to see, Lucille suddenly slumped to the ground unconscious.


	22. Lucille's Goodbye

**I really enjoyed writing the bit of suspense in this chapter, but I just wanted to remind you guys that if it starts to get to where it doesn't make much sense, just let me know and I'll try to rework everything to where people can better understand it. I'm my own worst critic when I'm editing, I think, so please forgive me! I hope you enjoy the chapter! :D**

Keira was once again in the dreamlike state of Lucille's alley. Her heart beat painfully in her chest as the overwhelming sense of dread hung over her.

"No…no… _no_ …"

Keira's voice squeaked as her eyes darted every which way to try and keep the shadowy corners of the alley in view. She pulled her arms up to her chest as a cold presence snaked through her veins.

"Lucille!" She shouted over the frigid breeze that blew through her dark hair. The distant street noises at the end of the alley were the only sounds she heard in response.

"Lucille…we've gotta go, sweetheart."

Keira whirled around and saw John standing beside her, his hand outstretched. Keira shakily looked down at his open palm and saw Lucille's hand take it slowly.

"No-" She said as she felt herself lean into his side fearfully. She tried to resist against the memory, but found that she could hardly even think her own thoughts.

"We shouldn't be here…" Lucille's voice came from her mouth.

"Why is it so much clearer this time?!" Keira cried out as she wildly looked around at the surrounding alley. The shadows seemed to stretch towards the couple as they headed down the alley.

"I know. I'm just meeting someone real quick before we go home. It's alright." John flashed her a quick smile and Keira felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

"It's not alright…" She whimpered, knowing that John couldn't hear her in the memory.

She turned her face back up to the sky, hoping that Lucille would be listening to her.

"Lucille! Don't you understand that it was all an accident?! You can let me go now…you should have peace knowing what happened!" She called. Her voice didn't seem to make a sound as the sounds of the nearby street drowned out her cries.

 _"…_ _Keira?"_

Keira's tear-filled eyes scanned the space around her as a familiar voice broke through Lucille's memory.

"H-Hello?" She called out.

She was still walking arm in arm with John, but her vision suddenly shimmered and she got a brief flash of the same alley, only with five other people standing in front of her. She blinked and then she was back in the memory watching as the two men crept out from the shadows.

"Hey, Beautiful…" One of the men said. Keira's heart was racing as she stared at the approaching men, knowing what would happen next.

 _"_ _You think you can save her, Dr. Stantz…but it's too late. She's all but gone now."_

Keira looked around and caught another flicker through Lucille's eyes. The four Ghostbusters were in front of her, Ray standing the closest.

"Ray?!" She called, hoping that Lucille's threats were all talk. The overwhelming lightheadedness she felt seemed to disprove that.

 _"_ _She's bluffing."_

Peter was staring at her sternly and then looked down at something in his hand. Ray looked at her hopefully.

 _"_ _Keira…Keira, I know you're still in there."_

"Ray…I _am_ still here. I don't know for how long though…" She said, but she was suddenly cut off as the vision dissipated. She was running for the main street, escaping the alley and the fight ensuing between the two thugs and John Bennett behind her.

As she reached the street, she looked down the road and saw flashing lights in the distance a few blocks down.

"That's them – it's got to be!" Keira shouted to herself excitedly. She moved to wave her arms over to call for the Ghostbusters but realized that she had no control over Lucille's body back in the past.

"Lucille, please stop this!" Keira screamed as she felt herself turn back to the dark alley. Her eyes welled up with tears as she charged back towards the horror she knew was coming. She instinctively raised her hands ahead of herself, hoping to block the stab she knew would happen any second. When Lucille's hands in front of her did the same, she froze and was surrounded by a dizzying array of dark colors. She looked down at the hands in front of her and was surprised to see that her left wrist was bandaged.

"Keira."

She looked up and jumped when she realized that Lucille was standing in front of her, with her green dress shimmering in the spinning lights.

"…Lucille." Keira breathed as she lowered her hand to her side. Lucille smiled.

"I was worried I wouldn't be able to find you." She said softly. Keira blinked as the alley came into view once more, this time empty but no less intimidating.

"Why wouldn't you be able to find me?" Keira asked hesitantly. Lucille shook her head sadly.

"I was afraid it was too late." She said as she stepped closer. "That you would be too far gone to come back."

"Well…I'm not." Keira said slowly, keeping her eyes locked on Lucille. The ghost smiled in relief.

 _"_ _Please wake up…"_

Keira glanced up as Ray's voice surrounded her through the haze of darkness. Lucille too looked around her. Keira shivered and clutched her arms tightly around her middle.

"He cares about you." Lucille commented. Keira stiffened as she looked confusedly at her.

"So did Matt." Keira said. Lucille frowned slightly before running her hand through the dark mist floating lazily around them.

"I am sorry, Keira. I've made a horrible mistake…" She raised her bright green gaze up to face Keira, hurt in her eyes. "Being…dead for so long changes people. Longing….sorrow…madness. I saw it in myself only a few moments ago."

Keira shivered again, the cold atmosphere seeming to creep into her chest. She squeezed her arms tighter to herself, wincing at the pain in her left arm.

"I don't want to be like this any longer, Keira. It…scares me." Lucille confessed. Her eyes glistened emotionally as she looked pleadingly at Keira.

"What…what can I do?" Keira breathed.

 _"_ _Keira, please…"_

Keira looked up at Ray's voice, her heart hammering painfully in her freezing chest. Lucille hesitantly reached her hand out to Keira who stepped back at the sudden movement. The ghost smiled wearily.

"I'm not going to hurt you anymore. I'm sorry for…for everything. I shouldn't have used you like this." Lucille said, her arm wavering in front of her. Keira looked down at herself and her eyes widened as she realized that she was nearly transparent in the darkness. She lifted her bandaged left hand in front of her face and gasped as she could see Lucille through her palm.

"What is happening to me?" Keira breathed. Lucille stepped closer, her eyes pitying.

"You're dying. I'll help you get back… and hopefully your Ghostbusters can help you then." Lucille said, her voice even and reassuring. Keira was still studying her trembling hands fearfully. "You won't see me anymore, I promise."

Keira nodded slowly as she raised her tear-filled gaze up to the other woman. Lucille smiled sadly at her as she gently pulled her into a hug. Keira gasped and her breath caught in her throat as the cold suddenly overwhelmed her at Lucille's touch.

"I'm sorry, Keira." Lucille whispered as the colors around them seemed to dive down and consume them both.

* * *

"What happened?" Peter asked, kneeling down next to where Ray held Keira in his arms.

"She's still breathing…" Ray commented, sounding only slightly relieved. He pressed his hand against her forehead where, curiously enough, her skin was freezing cold in the late summer heat.

"What did you do to her?" Winston asked, still holding the dark matter generator that Egon had handed him. He looked down at the device, raising an eyebrow as he wondered if it had harmed the ghost just by being switched on.

"I'm not sure what's wrong with her…" Ray said slowly as he gently turned her face to examine her unmoving expression. Peter clicked the meter in his hand on and frowned.

"There's nothing there…" He said confusedly. Ray's heart skipped a beat as he held Keira closer.

"So…that means the ghost is gone, right?" Winston asked. He moved forward, following Egon whose proton pack was still attached to the generator in Winston's hands.

"Not exactly…" Egon said worriedly. He took the meter from Peter's hand and looked it over searchingly. "It appears that Lucille has once more retreated into Keira's unconsciousness…but there's something strange-"

Keira cried out in pain, causing the four Ghostbusters to direct their attention to her. John stayed back from the group, watching the possessed girl in terrified silence.

"Hey!" Ray exclaimed softly as he shifted the girl in his arms. Her pale face was twisted in agony as her eyes flew open. Her gaze landed on Ray for a long moment as she caught her breath. After a moment, she smiled in relief at Ray who tenderly returned her smile. He gently brushed the dark hair away from her face.

"I told you everything would be alright." Ray said. She exhaled with a soft laugh.

"And I…I told you what would happen if you interfered again." She said after a moment. Ray blinked and then his smile fell.


	23. Understanding

**I couldn't wait any longer to post this chapter! I spent almost all afternoon yesterday and today after work writing it and I'm so excited about this! Let me know if it's any good! ;)**

Ray stared down at Keira, his heart skipping a beat as her words sank in. She smiled laughingly up at him and then shoved him away from her with superhuman strength. He fell back against his proton pack as she stood in one quick fluid motion, scanning the other men surrounding her with a scowl on her face.

"Lucille, don't make us hurt you!" Peter pleaded one last time. She glared at him and flicked her wrist towards the man, sending him flying back into John who had retreated to safety behind the Ghostbusters. Both of the men were thrown to the ground in a daze.

"Don't make you hurt Keira, you mean." She growled as she smirked knowingly at Ray's pained look in front of her. "Well you don't have to worry about that anymore."

"That's not true – she can't be gone. Keira, can you still hear me?" Ray tried from where he still lay against the alley wall in front of Lucille. She laughed at his attempts and moved slowly towards him.

"You know…I really think she would have returned your feelings, Dr. Stantz…if she'd even been able to recognize them. She was so…what's the word? Ditsy?" She said sarcastically. Ray glared up at her and shifted the proton pack back into place with a grimace at the bruises it had caused from his fall.

"She was stricken with grief because you chased away her fiancé." He said through gritted teeth. Lucille's eyes widened, faking innocence. She pressed her left hand to her chest.

"I did? Well then I guess I had given you the perfect opportunity to make your move. It's not my fault that you didn't take your chance." She smirked.

"Enough, Lucille." Egon's serious voice caused her smile to falter. She slowly turned to face him, blinking in slight surprise as she was greeted by a heavily armed proton thrower. Winston stood behind him as he held the dark matter generator pack which was humming with the high frequency of energy within it. Lucille's eyes narrowed.

"Even if you get rid of me, that doesn't change the fact that she's still dead." She growled. Egon's expression remained stoic as he charged up the thrower.

"Understood." He said as he fired the dark matter generator. The shock blast sent out a flash of purple energy, knocking the girl off of her feet.

"No!" Ray shouted. He scrambled to his feet and moved to where the girl lay on her back facing the sky with her eyes closed.

"Ray – don't!" Peter called from where he was helping John to his feet. As soon as Ray reached her side, Lucille quickly jerked upward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a chokehold.

"If you hit me again, he dies." She threatened, staring warningly at Egon and Winston. The two men angrily lowered their weapons, fearing the safety of their colleague.

"Why would you want to hurt, Ray? He's the one who's been fighting to let you have your way this whole time. We could have gotten rid of you on our own terms days ago." Peter said, brushing himself off as he strolled back towards the group. John watched the whole confrontation with wide, unbelieving eyes.

"You're lying." Lucille's hold around Ray's neck grew tighter the closer Peter got to them.

"No, I'm being genuinely serious right now. He wouldn't let us do much of anything – he thought it would be safer to let you take care of things on your own. But since 'taking care of things' in your book means killing your old fiancé, that's not okay with us. So…Ray's the only one who's on your side. Except for maybe him-" Peter turned and pointed to John whose eyes widened in surprise as all attention was thrown at him. "Are you on your old girlfriend's side?"

"I…um…" John stammered. Lucille's bright green eyes glared at him in irritation. "I don't think she wants me anymore, to be honest…"

"Okay…so…you're about to kill the only one who _is_ trying to help you, then. If that's still what you want, then go right ahead. Just know that once he's out of the way, you're toast." Peter shrugged.

"Venkman!" Ray choked out in protest. Lucille's wild eyes darted down to Ray as she spun him around to face her, loosening her hold on him. She seemed at war with herself as she studied the man in front of her. Ray tried to keep his expression firm but the fear in his eyes was clear to the ghost.

"Egon…what's the plan?" Winston whispered.

Egon slowly shifted his gaze from Ray and Lucille to the dark matter generator in Winston's hands. He hurriedly flicked on a switch that he had added during his rushed modifications. He adjusted a small bottle-like canister on the underside of the device and Winston looked at the small green light that had flickered on with the switch. As he raised his confused gaze to Egon's, the scientist nodded once before turning back to the scene in front of them.

"What is it with you?" Lucille hissed as she studied Ray's face. Ray blinked confusedly.

"What…do you mean?" He asked. Though her chokehold had been broken, she was still extremely close to him, too close for any of the other Ghostbusters to get a clear shot at her.

"You really care about this girl." She said. "Why?"

"I…I mean…I guess I sort of relate to her to some degree. I've been possessed before and it's not...let's just say that I sympathize with Keira. You broke her, Lucille." Ray said. "You took everything from her…"

"I had everything taken from _me_! You – you can't blame me for wanting to right the wrongs that were done to me." She glared to the side where John hung his head sadly. Ray gently raised his hand to her right shoulder comfortingly. Ray noticed that she cringed at his touch as if it burned her but she didn't pull away. Her reaction gave him an idea.

"You asked me why I care about Keira. I think it's because…when I was possessed by Vigo, I had my friends here to help me." Ray nodded back to where the other Ghostbusters stood in the alley around them. "And…though Keira had probably the closest friend she'd ever had in her fiancé, Matt…he wasn't as faithful to her as he should have been. He left her almost the instant we told him about her possession and that…that left her with no one."

Lucille raised her gaze to him accusingly. She hadn't known that the fiancé had known about her inhabiting Keira. Ray smiled wearily at her reaction like he could read the question in her face.

"We told him at the library about our speculations a few days ago. Before you really got a hold over her and all you could do was cause her to have little fainting spells and whatnot." Ray explained. Lucille narrowed her eyes at him and shoved his hand from her shoulder.

"I don't care about your sob story, and the strength of friendship and whatever nonsense you're trying to feed to me." She mumbled angrily. "Keira had no one, and now she's gone and you all won't accept that. No matter what you do, you can't stop me."

Ray smiled simply and moved to stand up. Realizing that she had nearly lost her upper-hand, she rose to her feet with him, pulling him closer towards her by the collar of his jumpsuit.

"You know…you're wrong. Keira does have someone…and I hope she realizes that it's me. I want her to know that I understand about what's happened to her and that I don't want her to feel like she's alone." Ray said softly.

Lucille blinked and lowered her gaze to the ground, anger and regret clouding her mind. Over her shoulder, Ray nodded as he met Egon's gaze. Egon quickly shook his head. Ray nodded sternly to him once more before turning his attention back to Lucille.

"Keira…if you're still in there…I want you to know that I'm here for you. You're not alone…I love you." Ray repeated as he pulled Lucille closer. His hands pushed the hair from her face and as she raised her confused gaze to his, he lunged forward and their lips met. Her eyes widened and the ground beneath them started to shake as she tried to shove him away.

 _"_ _Ray, you're too close!"_ Egon shouted as the bricks from the buildings on both sides of the alley started to loosen and fall from their structures. Winston dodged as a window from one of the buildings above them shattered, raining glass down on them.

 _"_ _Just do it!"_ Peter yelled, catching Ray's panicked sidelong glance. Lucille had her hands pressed against his shoulders, forcefully digging her fingernails into his skin through his jumpsuit in an attempt to get him to break the contact. Egon clenched his jaw as he charged up the thrower in his hands and fired at the couple, showering them in a light rain of positively charged mood slime.

"I didn't know it did that! How'd you have enough time to-" Winston exclaimed.

"That's not all." Egon said as he flicked off the green switch and charged up the thrower again. "Now for the finale."

The dark matter generator hummed with the built up energy surging into the thrower. Egon's hands trembled as his thumb inched down for the trigger that would release the shock blast at the couple in front of him.

"Ray, I hope you know what you're getting into!" Peter shouted as Egon finally hit the trigger. A flash of forceful dark matter energy shot towards the two people and the only sound heard over the blast was the agonizing cry of the ghost as it left Keira's body.


	24. Capture

**Sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter up. It feels like I've been working on it for the past whole week, so hopefully it's good! Enjoy! :D**

Keira inhaled sharply as her eyes struggled to adjust to the dim light around her. Her mind felt completely detached from the rest of her body, and a sense of weightlessness only added to her nausea. Once her confusion cleared for the most part, she finally found herself lying on the ground of an alley, her mind spinning. Figures in front of her phased in and out of focus and she was suddenly struck by the realization that she couldn't breathe.

" _L-Lucille!"_

John stood above her, a horrified expression on his face. Keira cringed as the cold metal of the knife sticking out of her chest chilled her. She squeezed her eyes shut, betrayal weighing down her heart, knowing that she was reliving Lucille's last memory one more time.

"Not…not again…" She choked out painfully. She lay sprawled on her back, her eyes shut tight at the worsening cold as the blood soaking through her clothes surrounded her. The throbbing in her head made her dizzy and the ground seemed to be moving beneath her.

 _"_ _John…"_

Lucille's voice sounded weakly from her mouth. Keira's eyes fluttered open weakly to see that John knelt next to her, panic written on his paling face.

Keira's head turned towards the end of the alley where she knew the Ghostbusters' car would fly by at any second. Accepting her fate, she prepared for the lights that would blind her and send her into oblivion. As her gaze rested on the opening of the alley, her eyes widened. Keira blinked confusedly to try and clear her dimming vision.

Bright lights reflected along the walls, casting a flashing blue glare on her face. She felt John take her hand and squeeze it tightly as she continued to stare hopefully at the car parked as if intentionally next to the alley.

 _"_ _Keira… please…"_

Keira blinked several times at the car before she hesitantly raised her gaze to the dark sky above her. Her head lolled back as her eyes drifted out of focus, the dizzying pain slowly ebbing away. The black sky seemed to stretch down towards her, blanketing her in a cold, peaceful silence.

 _"…_ _You're not alone…I love you…"_

Keira felt herself being pulled back painfully as her heart twisted with emotion. She tried to push the voice away so that she could drift back into the darkness uninterrupted, but it kept echoing through the surrounding mist.

 _NO! KEIRA, YOU CAN'T DO THIS!_

Keira cringed at the desperation in Lucille's voice. Blackness still surrounded her, but she could see lights slowly fading into view. The pain in her chest steadily returned but before it could reach its peak, a wave of warm energy washed through her, followed by silence.

A hand suddenly grasped hers, and almost immediately she felt the weightless feeling disappear. The darkness that had been so near to consuming her was broken by a brilliantly flashing light. She opened her eyes just barely and cringed at the bright blue color in front of her. Something moved to block the light and after a few seconds, Keira tried to open her eyes once more. She blinked up hesitantly at the silhouette in front of her.

"…Can you hear me?"

Keira slowly made herself nod, and her heart thrilled as she felt her muscles react to her thoughts. This was no longer Lucille's memory. She felt the grip on her right hand tighten briefly.

"Good…that's good." Ray's voice drifted down to her. She could vaguely see his relieved smile through the darkness spotting her vision. Something above him caught her eye and she weakly tilted her head to look up at the bright green swirling figure flying about the alley.

"Ray…" Keira started to say. He held her comfortingly to him. She gripped his hand in warning and watched as the glowing figure above them suddenly dove down. "Ray, there's-"

"I've got her!" Peter called out as a bright orange flash of light shot towards the ghost before it could reach the couple sprawled out on the ground. Ray ducked as sparks rained down on them from the heavily charged proton stream, shielding Keira's body with his.

" _NO!"_ Keira could hear the familiar anguished scream of Lucille as the proton stream pulled her away from them. Keira shook her head and managed to clear her vision somewhat in time to catch Lucille's frantic glare aimed towards her. The ghost reached down for her with a twisted, clawed green hand, her eyes glowing with rage.

"Hold on, back up is coming!" Winston shouted as another proton stream fired towards the ghost. Lucille cried out once more, her scream echoing down the alley. Keira shivered, knowing that the inhuman sound would haunt her dreams for the rest of her life.

"Trap's going in!" Egon said, as Lucille was finally pulled out of Keira's line of vision. Keira huddled closer to Ray as a brilliant flash of light reflected off of the alley walls, absorbing Lucille's furious cries of protest. After a moment, everything was silent.

"Keira, you're alright now." Ray said, still holding her to his chest. She felt herself shaking with an unusual cold and from the sobs that she was unable to silence. She gripped the fabric of his jumpsuit as if trying to ground herself to something.

"Is – is she really gone?" She finally asked weakly. She could hear the other Ghostbusters conversing quietly a few feet away as they seemed to be packing up their equipment.

"Yes, she's gone. She can't hurt you anymore." Ray said reassuringly. Keira shook her head.

"Then…why can I still feel her?" She whispered as her head throbbed painfully and another tremor shook her entire body. Ray wrapped her in a tighter embrace, pressing her cheek into his chest and smoothing down her hair.

"It'll be like that for a while, I'm afraid." He murmured, genuine pity in his voice. She clung to his arms and shivered again.

"Why…why am I so cold?" She asked. Ray glanced down at her and a huge smile broke out across his face.

"We're covered in slime. It's the good kind though. That's one of the only ways to get rid of a possessor ghost." He laughed softly as he wiped some of the goo from her face with the underside of his sleeve. She grimaced as she raised her left hand to her face to scrape more of the slime off. When she pulled her hand away she noticed blood covering her arm and the front of her shirt.

"Ray - !" She exclaimed as the vision of Lucille's death rushed back to her. What if she really had been stabbed, and that had transferred back into her real life? She pressed her hand to where she remembered the knife wound to have been, only to pull it away with a thin layer of slime coating her palm. Ray gently took her arm and examined it in the flashing blue lights from the car that was parked behind them.

"It's alright…I think with everything that's happened this evening you've just reopened your stitches." He said. He turned her wrist slightly and she winced. "We're heading straight to the hospital once they get the car loaded up, don't worry."

"Ray, how is she?" Egon asked as he stooped next to them to pick up the smoking trap from the ground. Keira stared at the device in his hand, her heart heavy as she saw the smoke pouring from the blinking trap.

"She seems to be a little delirious, but that may partly be the effects of the slime." Ray said. Egon nodded and switched on the PKE meter that had been clipped to his belt.

Keira ignored him as she looked up at Ray with his flushed cheeks, colored even more so by the pink slime that had showered over him as well. She shifted slightly in his arms and he steadied her back into his lap.

"Easy Keira, there's no need to try to move yet." Ray said gently. She blinked up at him wearily and smiled. She glanced up as another figure joined Egon, peering over his shoulder curiously at the small screen of the meter.

"D-does that mean she's really…" John stammered, flicking his gaze down to the trap in Egon's hand. Smoke still flowed from the device, and John backed away as Egon lifted it up to confirm that the light was still blinking and that the ghost was still safely confined. John glanced down at Keira and she was taken aback by the sharp look he gave her.

"Lucille can't hurt either of you while she's in this trap. When we get back to the firehouse, we'll secure her in the containment unit and that will be the last of our problems. For tonight, at least." Egon said. Keira looked up at John's sorrowful face as he stared hesitantly at the trap, his hand clutched tightly to his bleeding shoulder.

"What will happen to her then?" John asked quietly. Keira's heart wrenched as she thought of how he must have been feeling with losing his fiancé not only once, but twice.

"She wasn't the girl you used to know, John." Ray said gently. John nodded silently as he held back his emotions.

"Here, we'll call you a cab and get you to the hospital." Winston said as he ushered John away from the group. Egon and Ray both offered the man a silent nod as he was walked to the main street accompanied by their fellow Ghostbuster.

"Venkman, could you load up the generator please?" Egon called over his shoulder as he clipped the meter back to his belt.

"Uh…yeah…just a second." Peter called from a few feet away. He stooped to pick up the heavy equipment and, miscalculating his strength, he nearly stumbled to his knees with the weight of it. He set the device back on the ground and steadied himself against the wall.

"Pete?" Ray said, eyeing his friend worriedly. Egon raised an eyebrow before striding over to the other Ghostbuster.

"I'm fine…it's just…heavy." Peter coughed. Egon shook his head.

"No Venkman…your adrenaline rush has just run its course and you're on the verge of passing out from what may be a serious concussion." Egon said as he looked over Peter's paling face and breathlessness. "Go on back to the car, I'll get this."

Egon grasped Peter's shoulder and gently shoved him towards the car. Then he clipped the trap to his belt and carefully picked up the large dark matter generator, following Peter to the end of the alley.

"Mild…concussion?" Keira asked softly. Ray looked down at her and seemed to hesitate before answering.

"Yeah…back at the firehouse earlier-"

"Ray…what did I do to you all?" She interrupted, her voice thick with regret. Ray shook his head and smiled reassuringly down at her.

"It wasn't your fault-"

"Ray, come on! We need to get to get to the hospital - now. Venkman's just lost consciousness." Egon said as he ran to the other side of the car and leapt into the driver's seat. Winston rushed back down the alley and Keira could see a yellow taxicab pulling away from the curb behind him. As Winston reached the car, he shrugged out of his proton pack and after tossing it in the back, he ran to help Ray and Keira up. He pulled Ray's pack from his shoulders carefully before standing back to make sure the couple was able to move.

"Ready?" Ray said warningly.

"What – what do you mean?" Keira blinked up at him confusedly before crying out as a flash of intense soreness spread through her body at the sudden motion.

"Sorry." Ray murmured to her as he slowly carried her to the car. Her right arm was draped around his neck as his strong arms supported her back and legs. Her left was still cradled tightly to herself, the blood soaked bandages worrying her. As they reached the vehicle, Ray gently set Keira in the backseat and settled in beside her. Winston crawled into the front passenger seat, supporting Peter's unconscious form between his shoulder and Egon's. As soon as the car started moving, the shaky feeling hit Keira once more and she took Ray's hand for grounding. He looked at her worriedly and she leaned more fully against his side as exhaustion overcame her.


	25. Another Hospital Visit

**Hello everyone! Work has been slowing down lately, so I've had lots of time to write! It seems really saddening that I'm coming so close to the end of this fanfiction, but I'm eager to start on my next one! :D So I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll hopefully update again soon!**

Keira stirred groggily to the edge of consciousness, hearing the familiar sounds of hospital monitors beeping around her.

"Will she be alright?" Ray's voice broke through her drowsiness.

"Well, with the reopening of her stitches, there was a lot of blood loss. Not as much as when the cut was first made, but still a great deal. The burn on her shoulder should heal with little scarring but it will still be severely sore for a few days." A nurse's voice replied softly.

"Is that all? What about psychological or emotional trauma? That's mainly what I'm worried about." Ray said.

"You say she was possessed?"

"Yes…but don't go around saying that too much. The ghost is confined in one of our custom-made traps, and Winston is taking it back to the firehouse for permanent containment as we speak." Ray explained. The nurse sighed.

"Well, the way I see it, her body is reacting the same way it would be after fighting any other virus. It shuts down for a while to recover. Just give her a while and, if all goes well, she should be fine."

Keira slowly twitched her fingers, cringing at the pain that shot up her left arm. A shrill beeping sounded on one of the monitors to her right and she heard the nurse move to her bedside.

"What's wrong?" Ray's voice sounded closer than he had before.

"Her heart rate is going up. It must be time for another dose of morphine." The nurse said from her side. Keira tried to open her eyes to see Ray but before she could, she felt the rush of the morphine spreading through her system. Her hand relaxed back on the top of the blankets at her side and the beeping of the monitors quieted.

"Now, Dr. Stantz…will you allow us to look at you now? Your friends are all being taken care of, now it's your turn." The nurse said. Ray laughed slightly.

"Sorry, I just-"

"We'll let you know as soon as anything changes with Ms. Jackson's situation." The nurse promised lightheartedly. Keira could hear hesitant footsteps cross the room towards where she speculated the door to be. She could hear the nurse checking the monitors next to her for a few minutes and then she let herself fall back in deep slumber as the morphine kicked in full force.

* * *

Keira slowly opened her eyes and moaned at the severe headache that pierced through her temples as the light hit her eyes in her brightly lit hospital room. She raised her right arm weakly and draped it over her eyes. Her muscles were stiff from being motionless for what felt like several long hours.

"Keira?"

Keira hesitantly squinted out from under her arm to where the voice came from. She could see that Egon sat on the edge of an armchair next to her hospital bed, looking like he'd just woken up too. Keira smiled sleepily at him.

"How long have I been out?" She asked, her voice hoarse. She coughed and was surprised at how dry her throat was.

"Uh…well we all were checked in here a little before midnight last night, and…" Egon glanced down at his watch briefly. "It's a little past three in the afternoon now."

Keira blinked in surprise and reached for the glass of water on the table to her right. She took a hesitant sip of it and cringed at the stale taste it had from sitting out for so long.

"That's…that's crazy." She said as she tried to wrap her mind around the fact that she'd slept for so long. Egon smiled.

"Not really. You've been through a lot. It's taken a toll on you." He said gently. Keira nodded slowly as she set the water glass back on the table. She glanced down at her newly bandaged arm, a dull throb the only pain she felt. She also noticed that the slime she remembered coating her shoulders and arms were gone, and that her hair was clean and falling in dark waves around her face. She blinked confusedly at the brand new set of pajamas she wore and then sighed as she fell back against her pillow.

"It…doesn't feel real." She murmured to herself. She glanced up at the ceiling distantly, her right hand now resting against her chest. She could still see Lucille's death clearly in her mind, every detail etched into her memory.

"I'm sure it doesn't. It will probably take a while to adjust back to your normal life…" Egon said slowly. Keira shook her head, thoughts of Matt and her broken relationship coming to mind.

"I don't think I can go back to normal life…" She whispered to herself. Egon was silent for a few moments as Keira continued to stare at the room around her.

"Ray was able to get through the effects of his possession." Egon finally piped up. Keira carefully turned her head to face him. She frowned as something she remembered hearing broke through her memory.

"…He – he had his friends to help him through it." She mumbled. Egon raised his eyebrow thoughtfully.

"You heard him say that?" He asked. Keira blinked confusedly at him.

"What?"

"He said that exact thing to Lucille last night while we were confronting her in the alley."

"I…guess I do remember that. But a lot of that is just…a blur. Like looking back at a dream the morning after having it. I'm just getting bits and pieces." She said slowly. Egon nodded.

"Interesting. Maybe the longer you have to dwell on it, the more you'll be able to recall." He said. Keira stared thoughtfully at the wall behind Egon before moving her gaze back to him.

"W-where is Ray?" She finally asked. Egon looked taken aback by her question. He pointed towards the door casually.

"He's down the hall in his own room. He finally let the nurses take him in to get his injuries looked at earlier this morning. When I was finished with my examination, I told Ray I would come in here and sit with you until he was able to." Egon explained. Keira shrank back against her pillow worriedly.

"Egon…will you tell me something?" She asked softly.

"Sure." He said.

"What happened to you all? What…what did I do?" She asked.

Egon stared at her silently for a long moment. When he didn't answer, she met his gaze and felt tears start to well up in her eyes.

"Ray wouldn't tell me either. But if I was the one that put you all in here…I kinda want to know what happened."

"This kind of thing happens to us all of the time, it's nothing to worry about." Egon said reassuringly. Keira wasn't convinced.

"Tell me what happened." She insisted. Egon levelly met her gaze for a long moment before answering.

"Back at the firehouse, when we were trying to get a controlled confrontation with Lucille…" He started.

"When you all made me lay out on the couch and wait for her to take over?" Keira said, a sarcastic iciness to her voice. Egon nodded and continued.

"She proved to be smarter than we'd originally thought. She attacked Ray, and, knowing that we couldn't hurt her while our friend was in the way, she was able to use that to her advantage. She escaped and, to prevent us from following her, she wrecked the upstairs lab in an attempt to slow us down."

"…Hurting you all in the process." Keira finished for him. He sighed and nodded again. Keira bit her lip as she finally noticed a small, dark bruise coloring Egon's forehead.

"You can't take the weight of what happened on your own shoulders though, Keira. The one who was responsible is now safely confined in our Ecto-Containment Unit back at the firehouse." Egon said gently. Keira stared at him worriedly for a long moment until he broke eye contact and looked behind her.

"Miss Jackson, you're awake." Keira turned and noticed that a doctor had entered the room. He smiled at her as he crossed the room to examine her stats on the monitors next to her. "How are you feeling this afternoon?"

"Just…tired I guess." She said softly.

"Still feeling any pain?" He asked as he made a few notes on a clipboard.

"Not too bad. I'm a little sore but that's it." She said. The doctor eyed her carefully.

"Well…if that's true then I think there's a possibility of you going home later this afternoon, then." He said. Keira smiled wearily and nodded, but as the doctor exited the room, her smile fell as she thought of returning to her empty apartment.

"Can I see him?" Keira asked, turning back to Egon. The man straightened up and shrugged.

"I don't see why not. He's probably almost beside himself worrying about you." Egon said lightheartedly. He stood and walked across the room to the door to fetch a nurse.

"Ray's worried about me…" Keira breathed. She frowned as another memory resurfaced, something Lucille had mentioned to her on the brink of death.

 _He cares about you…_

Keira raised her right hand to her face thoughtfully and brushed her lips with her fingers.

* * *

A few minutes later and Keira was unhooked from the numerous machines and walking down the hall by Egon's side. He had a slight limp, which only did more to further Keira's guilt.

"Ray's room is a few doors down on the left." Egon said gently. Keira nodded and slowly continued walking down the busy hallway, crowded with patients in wheelchairs and nurses eyeing her carefully. As she grew closer to Ray's hospital room, a wave of dizziness at the strain she was putting on herself hit her. Egon quickly steadied her, placing a strong hand around her shoulders, careful of her injuries.

"I'm…I'm alright." She said softly and he continued to lead her slowly down the hall. When they reached the slightly open doorway, Keira paused. Egon stood by her side patiently, ready to catch her if she stumbled again.

Keira slowly moved into the doorway and could see that Ray was talking quietly to a doctor, having seemingly just finished his examination. He quickly slipped a clean shirt back on over his head, but not before Keira caught a glimpse of dark purple bruises coloring his side. He turned his head and his face broke into a quick smile.

"Keira, Egon, hey!" He said, as he carefully stood up from the bed. He gave Egon a curious glance.

"She insisted on coming down here herself." Egon explained. Ray's smile grew slightly bigger. Keira eyed him carefully as he limped away from the doctor towards them.

"Just a few bruised ribs, nothing to worry about." Ray said, catching her wary expression. Keira smiled, though from the X-rays behind him, she could see that they were clearly broken in a few places.

"They said something about discharging Keira in a little while. How are things going with you?" Egon asked. Ray shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm free to go, they said. Just need to fill out the paperwork. Venkman has to stay another night, his concussion was pretty bad, so they need to monitor him for a while longer…" Ray said.

"Sorry." Keira said sadly. Ray shook his head.

"No, no, it's not your problem. It just gives Peter and excuse to stay out of work for a few more days. He'll love that." He said lightheartedly.

"Like he would need an excuse." Egon added. Keira smirked.

"What happened to Winston?" She asked.

"He fared better than the rest of us. Sprained shoulder, couple of bruises, but he's a tough guy. He'll get over that in no time. In fact, he's back at the firehouse with Janine taking care of everything there for us." Ray said.

Noticing the guilt-ridden expression stuck on Keira's face, he carefully took her uninjured hand.

"Ready to fill out some paperwork?" Ray asked softly.

"I can take care of that. You both stay here for a few minutes. I'm sure Keira has a few questions for you." Egon said, flashing Ray a knowing look.

Ray looked like he was about to say something, but his colleague had already accompanied the doctor out of the room. He turned back to Keira hesitantly as the room around them grew silent. Her face was cast down to the squeaky clean floor of the hospital room.

"Keira?" Ray asked worriedly. He gently placed his hand under her chin and raised her face up to face him. After a moment, she began to speak.

"…When I was ten years old…I read my first horror novel, 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.' For some reason…I kept thinking about that story this whole time." She said softly. Ray frowned in confusion down at her.

"Why is that?" He asked.

"I just remember…" She lowered her gaze to the bandages around her wrist. "I remembered the ending…how Jekyll finally was able to defeat Hyde. He had to sacrifice himself to prevent Hyde from running rampant any longer."

Ray's eyes were locked on Keira's face with an understanding, weary expression. He remained in silence as she slowly explained herself.

"Lucille was able to stop my attempt when I did this…" She gently lifted her wrist. "But…last night…I was so close to letting go. I could hear you…but it was like you were getting farther and farther away."

"She did that to you, Keira. A possessor feeds off of the energy of their host until their strength overpowers the other. I think as a last second attempt to remain in power over you, she retreated back…"

"She did! That's exactly what she did! She came to me, pretending that she was apologizing for everything she had done to me…and I fell for it." Keira said. Ray nodded in thoughtful silence.

"She must have absorbed the rest of your strength before quickly returning to the fight. But she didn't stay to make sure her job was finished with you, thankfully." Ray said softly, sounding relieved. Keira looked up at him curiously.

"Ray…how did you bring me back? I was _so close_ …" Keira's chest tightened as she remembered how the darkness had seemed to fall over her, making her want to give up and rest in the overwhelming silence surrounding her. Ray squeezed her hand, bringing her back.

"This may sound strange, but I think I have a connection with you. I noticed it first at the hospital yesterday. When Peter and I first arrived to your room, everything was levitating and flying around you. I just reached out for your hand, which may have been stupid in other circumstances, and everything just stopped and went back to normal. So…last night when I was trying to stop Lucille from killing John, I noticed that every time I touched her, it would seem to cause her pain. So I figured…maybe that was the last bit of you that was still in there."

Keira's eyes were filled with tears as she leaned into Ray's chest. His arms instinctively wrapped around her. She closed her eyes, the memory of a kiss she could barely remember coming to mind.

"I remember." She murmured.

"You do?" He asked confusedly as she pulled away slightly to look up at him. She nodded slowly as she stood on her tiptoes and tilted her face up to his. He hesitantly met her lips and Keira's heart thrilled as they kissed in the middle of the hospital room.


	26. Weeks Later

**Well guys...I've come to the end of this story! Thanks for keeping up with me and I hope you'll let me know what you think now that it's completed! :D**

 **Keep a look out over the next week or so for my next story, I'm going to be working on it full throttle now that this is done!**

Ray Stantz walked into the New York Public Library, a cup of coffee in hand. He headed up to the front desk, noticing that none of the other regulars at the library seemed to glance at him like they'd used to. He smiled as Cindy Drummond turned around in her desk chair to face him.

"Hello, Ray." She said sweetly. "Everything going well for you today?"

"Yeah, seems to be. Winston and Peter are off on the other side of town looking for a couple of poltergeists haunting an abandoned warehouse but other than that, it seems to be pretty quiet today." Ray said casually. Cindy smiled.

"And they didn't invite you?" She asked. Ray smirked.

"Oh, I was invited. I just knew it wasn't going to be a very big job, so I let them go without me. Even Egon agreed, deciding to stay back and hold down the fort while the rest of us were out." Ray said. Cindy pursed her lips knowingly and crossed her arms on top of her desk as she studied Ray's roaming gaze at the large reading room around him.

"Keira's down in her little reading alcove again taking her morning break. Want me to go and fetch her for you?" She offered, knowing that he would decline. Ray shook his head.

"No, I'll go and find her. I wanted to surprise her anyway." He said as he smiled in thanks at the librarian. She gave him a little wave as he headed towards the back of the library and the stairs that led down to the lower level.

As he quietly descended the stairs, he was aware of the silent, warm feeling that the lower wing of the building had. He turned down a row of bookshelves and when he reached the end of it, he spotted Keira sitting in a large reading chair, book in hand. Her knees were pulled up underneath her and she had her left arm leaning casually against the armrest as she held the book in her lap with her right. Afraid of startling her, he quietly cleared his throat as he rounded the corner of the bookshelf.

Keira quickly raised her head, alert, and her blue eyes were instantly bright and twinkling with recognition. Her face broke into a smile as she flipped her book over onto the armrest and leapt up, wrapping him in an excited embrace.

"Ray! I didn't know you were coming today." She said excitedly. He smiled as she released him and he held the cup of coffee out to her.

"I bring a peace offering for interrupting your reading." He said. She giggled as she took the plastic cup from him.

"You didn't have to do that…you know I'll always forgive you. You're one of the only exceptions, though." She said softly. He smiled.

"How are you doing?" He asked as Keira sat back in the large reading chair and scooted over to make room for him. He leaned against the armrest next to her.

"It's been less than twelve hours since you last called to ask me that, do you really need to keep tabs on me like this?" She asked, a teasing gleam in her eye. "Yes, as I've told you for the past few weeks, I'm fine."

"I just…worry about you." He said gently. She smiled and leaned against his shoulder, taking his hand.

"I know you do." She whispered. She glanced down at the coffee in her left hand, her eyes landing on the nearly healed cut on her wrist. "I don't think I'll ever be able to pass by a mirror without my heart giving a little start. I still see her when I look at myself."

Ray brushed her dark colored hair over her shoulder and planted a quick, reassuring kiss on her cheek. He smirked as he noticed the overturned book next to her.

"You're reading 'Tobin's Spirit Guide?'" He asked, lightheartedly trying to change the subject. Keira bit her lip and nodded, embarrassed.

"I just figured…that if anything like this should happen again, I would want to know more about it. A lot of this is really pretty interesting, actually." She said. Ray laughed.

"I guess not everything that came from this possession was all bad, then." He said, running his thumb over the top of her hand. Keira flashed him a curious look, her head still laying on his shoulder. "You've become more open to the world of ghosts, for one thing."

"And for another…it allowed me to meet you." She added quietly. Ray looked down at her and she met his gaze fondly.

"You seemed thrilled about that to begin with." He said jokingly. She smirked and playfully slapped his knee.

"I'm making up for that now." She said as she tilted her head up and kissed him.

Ray touched her face lovingly and after a moment, pulled away smiling. Blushing, she glanced down at the book lying on the armrest.

"I should probably get back to work." She said a little dejectedly as she moved to stand up. Ray grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn back to him with a questioning glance.

"Not until you promise to meet me for lunch later." He said, a serious look on his face. Keira grinned.

"Followed by dinner at my place later tonight? I want to try my hand at cooking." She offered. Ray smiled and kissed her again.

"I don't see why not." He said as he followed her back through the maze of bookshelves and back to the upstairs floor of the library.


End file.
